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By ANDY KIRKALDY
VERGENNES — Vergennes aldermen on Tuesday looked at a first draft of a 2008-2009 municipal budget that could hike city spending by $156,000, or almost 10 percent, to about $1.78 million.
But despite that apparently dramatic increase, City Manager Renny Perry told aldermen that a jump in the municipal portion of the Vergennes tax rate was not a sure thing.
Perry said he was projecting a budget surplus of roughly $40,000 from the current fiscal year, which ends on June 30. And he said an increase in the amount of taxable property in Vergennes — including VELCO's new substation — could boost revenue to cover the increased costs.
"It looks like a lot of money. It is a lot of money. But … it's too early to predict what our revenue situation is going to be," said Perry, adding, "There's a whole bunch of factors that will determine what effect this will have on the tax rate, if any."
Perry is concerned about how soon the substation will get on the tax rolls, however: He said VELCO missed an April deadline for providing an estimate of its taxable value to the Vermont Public Service Board, and he hopes that there isn't a "loophole" that will allow the power transmission firm to escape taxation for an unfinished project.
If Perry's guess on the surplus is accurate and the city's grand list grows enough, the city's tax rate could even remain level this year. According to late-winter Addison Northwest Supervisory Union estimates, the school tax portion of the city tax rate could drop by almost a penny. ANwSU business manager Donna Corcoran said on Wednesday that nothing had changed since then to move that estimate.
Increases in the draft city budget were across the board, and were concentrated in unsurprising areas, notably fuel and insurance costs.
By JOHN FLOWERS
MIDDLEBURY — Middlebury selectmen are considering raising municipal water rates for the first time since 2001, in an effort to meet rising operating costs and debt service on water system upgrades.
But some of the community's largest water users are seeking to turn the tide on talk of a proposed rate hike — which could represent about a 12 percent increase — that they said would only add to the already high costs of doing business in Middlebury.
"Manufacturing is getting harder to harder to do in Middlebury," Otter Creek Brewing General Manager Gail Daha said at a selectboard meeting on Tuesday of rising expenses in Middlebury. "We've seen increases across the board, and there is a tipping point."
Otter Creek Brewing and Agri-Mark/Cabot are two of the largest consumers of Middlebury municipal water and would be among the hardest hit in the event of a rate increase. But town officials said they must consider a rate hike in light of projections that Middlebury's water fund will end this fiscal year in the red. Assistant Town Manager Joseph Colangelo is recommending that $40,000 be applied from the water department's fund balance to wipe away this year's deficit.
But future deficits appear unavoidable unless selectmen raise current water rates and/or continue to patch annual shortfalls using money from the water department's fund balance, which now stands at around $400,000. Town officials are advising that selectmen not regularly tap the fund balance, seen as a valuable reserve for emergencies.
Middlebury's current water rate stands at $2.60 per 1,000 gallons. That rate will need to be bumped to $2.92 per 1,000 gallons — a 12.3 percent hike — in order to avoid water fund deficits in future years, according to Colangelo.
MIDDLEBURY — Sixteen months after buying the former Specialty Filaments plant out of U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the Thomas Monahan Co. has resurrected the once-mighty bristle manufacturer and turned it into a productive business that continues to look for workers.
Now operating as "Monahan Filaments," the company has a workforce of more than 140 workers, a more diverse product line and a new business plan that calls for exporting its wares to the same foreign markets that had undercut Specialty Filaments only a few years ago.
"The ground is always shifting, unfortunately," said Jon Monahan, president of Monahan Filaments. "But we feel we understand the market well enough after a year that we are much more confident about where we need to take the company."
It was in January of 2007 that Specialty Filaments filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, following a steady decline in business brought on, in large part, by aggressive competition from overseas manufacturers. The sudden closure left 175 employees — most of them Addison County residents — out of work.
Thankfully, the plant's shutdown proved to be only temporary.
The Thomas Monahan Co. (TMC) of Arcola, Ill., submitted to the bankruptcy court the lone, successful bid of $3.125 million for the Specialty Filaments business and property at 3046 Case St. in Middlebury.
Monahan officials have spent the past year sizing up their new acquisition, which now manufactures around 25 percent of Thomas Monahan Co.'s products: bristles for household, janitorial and industrial brushes.
While Monahan doesn't foresee the Middlebury plant getting back to 175 workers, he does believe the business is on a path to stability.
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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Who doesn't like the ice cream truck? Apparently some parents in Park Slope.
Dozens of recent comments on a Park Slope parents message blog said ice cream vendors need to leave the area, especially places around the playgrounds and parks, to help avoid afternoon meltdowns and temper tantrums from children craving frozen treats.
"Go somewhere else, go on another corner because…it does make it too tempting for them," Debbie Markovic said Monday as her lactose-intolerant daughter begged for ice cream.
CBS 2's Emily Smith found ice cream trucks on nearly every corner, including a Mister Softee truck, several Icee carts and a few frozen yogurt mobiles.
Though a sentiment exists among some to move the ice cream trucks, some frozen treat fanatics said banning a staple like Mister Softee is simply un-American.
"A little extreme, a little treat is a good thing," one woman said.
"They're walking down the street and my kid wants everything, every toy they see. Does that mean we should ban every toy store?" another woman said.
A city agency said banning ice cream trucks would have to be done legislatively citywide or statewide. They said to ban the trucks just in Park Slope would be impossible.
One parent jokingly said not until celery trucks go around playing fun music should the community consider banning the ice cream trucks.
Community Board 7 said it gets complaints about noisy music from the ice cream trucks or even safety issues regarding parking. However, an all-out ban for health reasons is unrealistic because the trucks are run by private vendors and parents have the option to say "no."
Where do you stand on the issue? Do you think ice cream trucks should be banned in Park Slope? Share your thoughts below…

subset: commoncrawl


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PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Saint Joseph's had lost 10 straight against ranked teams and hadn't defeated a top-five opponent in nearly 36 years.
The Hawks changed all that Saturday, stunning No. 5 Maryland 50-49 behind Chatilla van Grinsven's 18 points.
Saint Joseph's (2-1) beat a ranked foe for the first time since a victory over No. 15 Auburn on Dec. 29, 2007. The Terrapins are the highest-ranked team the Hawks have defeated since upsetting No. 3 Montclair State way back on March 11, 1977.
"This win means so much," van Grinsven said. "We've been so close so much, and to come through is a great feeling. We're celebrating this win. We played as hard as we could and made some plays at the end."
Saint Joseph's had dropped 10 straight games to the Terrapins before this one but held Maryland scoreless over the final seven minutes.
Alyssa Thomas had 16 points and 15 rebounds while Laurin Mincy added 14 points for the Terrapins (2-1), who opened the season with a 39-point victory over Mount St. Mary's and a 43-point win over Loyola.
"This has been a great week for this program," said Saint Joseph's coach Cindy Griffin, whose team defeated Drexel on a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer Wednesday. "I think we're not perfect, but we're finding ways to win. I think we're tough. I think our players are tough."
Maryland, a regional finalist in last season's NCAA tournament, couldn't shake the Hawks, even after building a 47-38 lead with 9:10 remaining.
"I thought St. Joe's had a terrific game plan and made us work for everything," Maryland coach Brenda Frese said. "They made it difficult for us to get into our offense."
Saint Joseph's went on a 12-2 run to take a 50-49 lead with 4:21 left. The Terrapins committed five of their 19 turnovers during the spurt.
Thomas hit a jumper for a 49-44 lead with seven minutes remaining, but that was all the offense the Terrapins would muster the rest of the game.
Still, Maryland had three chances to win in the final 19 seconds.
Katie Rutan missed a jumper and Thomas had her follow shot blocked by van Grinsven.
The Terrapins had one last chance with less than a second left, but Tianna Hawkins misfired from the baseline and the Saint Joseph's bench erupted in celebration.
"This win is the result of our hard work and preparing," van Grinsven said. "It's a great day for our program here."
Erin Shields added 10 points for the Hawks, who won despite being outrebounded 47-27. Thomas had nine offensive rebounds.
Neither team hit a 3-pointer in the second half. Hawkins managed just two points after scoring 51 in the first two games.
Maryland plays No. 15 Nebraska and No. 2 Connecticut in the next two weeks.
"Obviously, we have a thin margin for error," Frese said. "Obviously, we've got to come ready to play. This will absolutely humble us."


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Phone Systems
Ask a Phone Systems Question, Get an Answer ASAP!
Hi, I'm Nathan.Sorry to hear that you're having trouble with this but I'll do my best to help you.
Can you tell me a bit more about the problem please:1) If you have multiple handsets (within the same system), does this happen with all of them? 2) Are there other phones or even a fax, outside of this system but on the same line? If so are they working properly?3) Is this a landline from the local phone/cable company, or a VOIP service (vonage/magicjack/etc)?


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P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }
Editor's comment: Skin-related problems are a common complaint among people with fibromyalgia. Some of the most common dermatologic symptoms include dry skin, itching (pruritus), rashes and mottled skin. The purpose of this study was to identify the various types of skin problems experienced by FM patients and to determine how common they are.
Dermatologic Manifestations of Fibromyalgia.
By Valerie Laniosz, David A. Wetter and Desiree A. Godar
Subscribe to the World's Most Popular Newsletter (it's free!)
The aim of this study was to determine the common dermatologic diagnoses and skin-related symptoms in a cohort of patients with fibromyalgia seen in a tertiary referral center.
A retrospective chart review was performed of all patients with a fibromyalgia diagnosis from January 1 to December 31, 2008, whose diagnosis was confirmed in the Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Charts were reviewed for dermatologic conditions and cutaneous symptoms. Demographic and clinical data were collected to assess the frequency of skin-related issues in patients with fibromyalgia.
Of 2,233 patients screened, 845 patients met the inclusion criteria of having a confirmed diagnosis of fibromyalgia. Among these fibromyalgia patients, various dermatologic conditions and cutaneous problems were identified, including
hyperhidrosis in 270 (32.0 %),
burning sensation of the skin or mucous membranes in 29 (3.4 %),
and various unusual cutaneous sensations in 14 (1.7 %).
Pruritus without identified cause was noted by 28 patients (3.3 %),
with another 16 patients (1.9 %) reporting neurotic excoriations, prurigo nodules, or lichen simplex chronicus.
Some form of dermatitis other than neurodermatitis was found in 77 patients (9.1 %).
Patients with fibromyalgia may have skin-related symptoms associated with their fibromyalgia. No single dermatologic diagnosis appears to be overrepresented in this population, with the exception of a subjective increase in sweating.
Source: Clinical Rheumatology, January 14, 2014. By Valerie Laniosz, David A. Wetter and Desiree A. Godar. Department of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.


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enlist in the AGA!
UPDATE! May 24th, 2011.The AGA is looking for a brand new army and we are waiting for your applications! Read on!
Are you a young feminist looking for a vital community, peer and mentor support, energized discussion and a great place to be seen and heard? The All Girl Army wants you!
The main part of the All Girl Army site is the individual blogs for no more than 29 girls and women between the ages of 10 and 25 who identify as feminist, and a single, collective blog which highlights entries from the individual blogs, as well as news items pertinent to women and girls and topics given for more writing and discussion.
The Earthquake which took and gaveSubmitted by Em on April 22, 2011 - 10:08pm.
One morning in February I had just got out of bed, my alarm failed to go off that morning and I was meant to meet my Boyfriend at our favourite coffee haunt in the centre of Christchurch where we both live. I called him "Honey I'm so sorry I'm late, I will be there, gimme an hour ok?", He was there already waiting for me, and as usual he was his sweet self and told me not to worry as he was deep into a book anyway so to take my time. I went to change in my room at our 100 year old flat. Then I heard a loud rumble and all of a sudden things started falling.


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Whether you are staying close to home or traveling to far off places, apps for your Smartphone or tablet can make traveling a little more relaxing. Downloading one or a few of these apps before disembarking is as essential as packing sunscreen. There are many travel apps to choose from some help you find the best restaurant while another finds the exchange rate to calculate a purchase. Below is a list of ten apps that will help you with your future travels, each of the apps listed below are free and work on Android and Apple devices.
City Maps 2 Go
City Maps 2 Go offers street maps of over 7,500 cities internationally to download and use offline. Travelers can find where they are located on the map while being offline and without racking up roaming charges. They can also get detailed travel content, insider tips, popular attractions and user reviews all offline.
GasBuddy helps you locate gas stations near you and see the station's current prices. Prices and station locations are plotted and updated by other app users though the app's interface. Users that plot stations or update prices receive points for a prize giveaway. The app currently plots stations and prices in the United States and Canada.
GateGuru sends you updates to your flight itinerary on your day-of-travel listing security wait times, flights delays, gate changes or layover time adjustments. It also provides you with information about the airports listed in your itinerary such as amenity information, maps, weather forecasts, and many other airport tips. View user ratings for all of the services offered at a particular airport or limit ratings using terminals listed on your itinerary.
Postagram creates postcards from photos you've taken or shared through Instagram, Facebook or your mobile device. You can write a 140 character message to send along with your photo. After composing your postcard, you can opt to send it for 99 cents to anywhere in the U.S. or $1.99 to send it internationally.
TravelSmart provides emergency numbers for the police, fire department, and ambulance by destination throughout the world. It contains a drug dictionary with international translations in multiple languages if you forgot your medication or need to purchase some. It has translated first aid terms into multiple languages and has a comprehensive list of reputable hospitals by country in the Allianz healthcare network.
TripIt organizes your travel plans into one itinerary that has all of your trip details in one place. TripIt captures your itinerary data from online confirmation emails or you can build it by hand. Everything from your air, car, and hotel reservations to dining and activity plans can be accessed whenever you are online. Your master itinerary can also be shared with friends, family, and coworkers to help them connect with you while you are away.
UrbanSpoon gives you ratings and pricing for over a million restaurants. Reviews for restaurants are a mixture of consumers and food critics. You can find restaurants based on your locality and filter your results by cuisine type and price. Phone numbers, addresses, menus and reservations information are easily accessible through the app.
Waze is a community-based traffic and navigation app. Other drivers in the area you are traveling provide real-time traffic and road information alerting you to police, accidents, road hazards and traffic jams. Updates to road closures and construction are provided with new routes suggestions.
Wifi Finder
Wifi Finder finds the nearest free or pay-for Wi-Fi connection when you travel. Locations can be downloaded to use offline when you do not have an internet connection. Filter locations by hot-spot provider (Comcast/Mediacom) or by location type (restaurant, café, hotel). The phone number and directions to the WiFi connection are also provided.
XE Currency
XE Currency accesses live exchange rates to help you calculate prices on your mobile device. The app also stores the last updated rate so you can still get a relatively reliable calculation for how far your money can go. You can view historical exchange charts and track up to ten currencies at once.
And what vacation is complete without a little reading? Download the Zinio and Overdrive apps to your device to access the library's collection of e-books, e-audiobooks, and e-magazines for free! They are another travel staple you should not leave home without.


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Nail artist Simcha Whitehill aka Miss Pop shows you exactly how to recreate this vintage-looking floral mani with ease.
1. Prep. File your nails into the desired shape, push back your cuticles — DO NOT CUT THEM! — and then apply one layer of a base coat polish, followed by two coats of YSL "Beige Gallery 39."
2. Create a flower. To do so, use a pink shade, like Deborah Lippmann "Shape of My Heart," get a bead of polish on the tip of the brush, and then spread out a few drops randomly on each nail.
3. Add leaves. Using a small paint brush or striper brush, create a leaf shape by drawing a narrow pointed oval, and then filling in the open space with a deep green shade, like OPI "Here Today … Aragon Tomorrow."
4. Outline the flower buds. Dip the same thin striper brush in Essie "Licorice," and then outline each bud with two black parenthesis. Then, inside each bud, create a "V" shape in two short strokes. "To get that sketch pad look, your lines should simply suggest the shape and not be perfectly drawn on," Whitehill says.
Finally, wait a few minutes for your artwork to set. Then seal your look with topcoat.
Voila! Chic, vintage-looking nails that people will pin the hell out of. Now, Instagram and tweet your DIY design with the hashtag #CosmoManiMonday.
RELATED ARTICLES:[link href="/style-beauty/beauty/how-to/a19623/teal-glitter-ombre-nail-tutorial/" link_updater_label="internal_full"]Nail Art How-To: Navy and Teal Glitter Nails
5 Things You NEED to Make Sure Your Manicurist DoesNail Art How-To: Gorgeous Glitter NailsNail Art How-To: Sexy Snakeskin Mani
Follow Carly Cardellino on Facebook and Twitter.
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Griffin


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China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), was a country in Asia before the Great War. China was the primary rival of the United States during the twenty-first century, with the U.S. having developed relatively warm diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union during the twentieth century in the Fallout universe. It was a military and economic superpower, able to fully compete with the U.S., and was consistently portrayed as an equal to America. For instance, China attempted to be the first to drill out the last sources of petroleum in the world.[1] It is implied that Americans sabotaged this attempt and, that without such sabotage, the Chinese would have been successful. In addition, China developed the unique 'Hei Gui' stealth armor that the United States military reverse-engineered with the deployment of its unstable, wrist-mounted Stealth Boys.
Political systemEdit
In 2077, China was a socialist nation with single-party rule.[2] The ruling political party was the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Two leaders of the nation have been mentioned, President Xin and Chairman Cheng, and it is unknown which account is more reliable. It is possible that China's last head of state before the Great War was President Xin, while Chairman Cheng was the leader of the CCP. The last Chinese Ambassador to the United States was Xiu-Ling.[3]
Prior to the Sino-American WarEdit
In 1927, the Chinese Civil War broke out between the Republic of China and a communist revolutionary movement. The conflict was briefly suspended in 1937 when the Second Sino-Japanese War began, carrying on into World War II and ending in 1945. In 1949, the Civil War ended with Mao Zedong and his communist revolutionaries victorious. On October 1st, the People's Republic of China was established. All remaining supporters of the Republic of China fled to the island of Formosa. Due to the divergence, the status of Hong Kong, Macau, Tibet and autonomous regions are unknown.
Relations were strained with China even before the Sino-American War, as it raced with the United States to tap the last remaining oil fields deep beneath the Pacific Ocean. The work of Chinese geologists and petroleum exploration engineers was sabotaged by American spies, allowing the United States' energy company Poseidon Oil to erect an Oil Rig of their own and claim the resource. The strained relations eventually led to the Chinese invasion of Alaska in 2066, where the Anchorage Front Line became the first and most important battlefield.
Sino-American War (2066-2077)Edit
The exact details on China as a nuclear power in the Fallout universe are sketchy at best. It is not actually known how many nuclear weapons or of what types China brought to the final blasts of the Great War or even if it was the only country launching nuclear weapons at the United States, which was at that time in the midst of resource disputes with many other nations.
- 2066: Chinese forces under the leadership of General Jingwei successfully invaded Alaska, claiming its pipeline and oil reserves for Beijing.
- 2067: The Anchorage Reclamation commenced, with the first suits of T-45d power armor deployed there.
- 2073: China became increasingly aggressive in the war, using biological weapons against American forces.[4]
- 2074: American T-45d power armor units, conventional infantry, and mechanized infantry divisions outfitted with the power armor were deployed to China as part of an American counter-invasion of Chinese territory, but they became bogged down on the mainland, putting a further drain on American resources and supply lines.
- 2076: The advanced T-51b power armor finally finished its development cycle, and the first mechanized infantry unit outfitted in this version of power armor was sent to China. The new armor allowed these troops to finally carve a swath through Chinese forces. Chinese supply lines from the East and Southeast Asian nations China had annexed began to break down. Shortly after, the cities of Shanghai and Nanjing were occupied by US forces.
- 2077: At some point, one of the nuclear powers began launching nuclear weapons. This resulted in a massive retaliatory response that culminated in the Great War on October 23, 2077.
See also: The Great War
Infiltration of the Eastern SeaboardEdit
Chinese commandos infiltrated mainland America during the Sino-American War, in order to spy on and sabotage the American war effort. Their focus was Washington, D.C., which they penetrated under the cover of Mama Dolce's factory and L.O.B. Enterprises, supported by several Chinese special forces teams. A large amount of Chinese arms were also covertly transported to the American capital city, possibly in order to equip communist sympathizers and Chinese sleeper agents and spark an insurrection that would severely affect the American ability to effectively wage war. Two agents, Agent Wan Yang and Agent Jiang, had infiltrated Point Lookout to destroy the Chinese sub SSN-37-1A that sank in American waters. The side quest The Velvet Curtain deals with this directly.
Attempted sabotage of Hoover DamEdit
|The following is based on Van Buren and has not been confirmed by canon sources.
Shortly before the Great War started in 2077, a Chinese infiltration and sabotage team discovered the Hoover Dam secret genetics laboratory - Classified Sub-Level 1C - and tried to destroy Hoover Dam, so the genetic work could never be used against them. Some of the Chinese stealth soldiers made it into Sub-Level 1C, while others were planting bombs in the main generator rooms - Scum Pits. One of the bombs went off prematurely and alerted all of Hoover Dam, including the guards in S1C. Things become cloudy in the reports due to the chaos that ensued, but suffice it to say that the Chinese were defeated, the generators were heavily damaged, and S1C was compromised. A couple of Chinese stealth soldiers and four scientists were trapped in S1C after the hatch was sealed. The Prisoner could find the soldiers there and use the materials from their stealth armor to make his own armor.[5]
Infiltration of Limit-115 LaboratoryEdit
Chinese Hei Gui units managed to steal Limit-115 samples during the Hoover raid, but they were killed in Denver in a crowded public area, breaking the vials with the virus, unleashing the New Plague on Denver.
|End of information based on Van Buren.
Post-Great War Chinese PresenceEdit
San FranciscoEdit
The Shi inhabitants of San Francisco claim to be the descendants of the Chinese People's Liberation Army's naval crew of the Shi-Huang-Ti (named after the first Chinese emperor Qin Shi Huang), which washed ashore in the great nuclear EMP-produced blackout following the Great War. The Chinese survivors managed to adapt themselves to the post-nuclear world, salvaging the submarine's supercomputer, christened the Emperor by the Shi. In time, the Shi dismantled much of the submarine, eventually turning San Francisco into a center of scientific research and higher learning.
|The following is based on Fallout 2 cut content and has not been confirmed by canon sources.
The submarine was planned to play a bigger role in the game - armed with conventional missiles and hidden in the San Francisco Bay it could destroy the PMV Valdez heading to the Poseidon oil rig that was used as the headquarters of the Enclave.
|The following is based on Fallout 2 cut content and has not been confirmed by canon sources.
Capital WastelandEdit
In the year of 2277, traces of Chinese activity linger still throughout the Capital Wasteland. Chinese remnants can be found in various locations around the Capital Wasteland like the Chinese remnants Spies at Broadcast Tower KT8, Chinese remnants Soldiers at Mama Dolce's and the random location in which a Chinese commando can be found. People's Republic of America Radio is a Chinese broadcast about victory over the U.S.A. Along with the Chinese radio beacon these radio stations can be listened to at certain locations in the Capital Wasteland. Many items such as the Chinese assault rifle, the Chinese pistol, the Zhu-Rong v418 Chinese pistol, the Chinese commando hat, the Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual, the Chinese officer's sword, and the Chinese jumpsuit all originate from China, and were either intended for use by Chinese infiltrators or American fifth columnists. The fact that many Chinese weapons, clothing and radio equipment can be found in the Taft Tunnels under the Jefferson Memorial implies the existence of Chinese spies below the Pentagon. Chinese commandos can be encountered during the Tranquility Lane and Operation Anchorage simulations.
Point LookoutEdit
When entering the area of Point Lookout, a Chinese Covert Submarine codenamed SSN-37-1A can be found stranded just off the coast of Point Lookout. This submarine was sent to "patrol hostile waters" and observe on the military officials at Turtledove Detention Camp and the naval recruiting center. Furthermore, there is evidence of at least two undercover Chinese agents who were posted as wanted in Point Lookout area. After being caught the Chinese agents were sent to the Turtledove Detention Camp, which is one of the two places the Velvet Curtain quest starts. The two Chinese agents in Point Lookout were known as agent Yang and agent Jiang. There is also a secret Chinese Intelligence bunker in the area.
Mojave WastelandEdit
Chinese activity is no longer present in the Mojave Wasteland but formerly was. Two sets of Chinese stealth armor can be found in Hoover Dam, these are the suits worn by the Chinese infiltrators who were sealed inside Sub-level 1C during the Hoover Sabotage. As in the Capital Wasteland, Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manuals can be found throughout the Mojave.
The CommonwealthEdit
Chinese activity is very low in the Commonwealth during the year 2287 but there is a Chinese submarine still in function, but severely damaged, called the Yangtze-31. It is run by Captain Zao, a former Chinese Navy captain who has now become a ghoul. The rest of the crew have now become Feral ghouls.
The Yangtze-31 is also referenced on Diamond City Radio once the quest Here There Be Monsters has been completed, further highlighting the remaining Chinese presence. It is assumed by the Sole Survivor and confirmed by the Yangtze captain that the Yangtze was what launched the nukes into the Commonwealth in 2077.
Chinese officer swords can be found in the Commonwealth.
Imperial ChinaEdit
|The following is based on Fallout Extreme and has not been confirmed by canon sources.
Although the communists in China started the Great War, they couldn't finish it. Imperial remnants from places like Taiwan swiftly took the country back from the Reds, and crowned a new emperor of China. The new dynasty, however, did not like how America ended up in the Great War, and are building a massive missile to destroy the dangerous Brotherhood of Steel.
|End of information based on Fallout Extreme.
Known locationsEdit
- Beijing (Mentioned in Fallout 2)
- Forbidden City (Fallout Extreme, Mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas)
- Nanjing (Mentioned in Fallout: New Vegas, Honest Hearts)
- Shanghai (Mentioned in Honest Hearts)
- Shantou (Mentioned in Fallout 4)
- Shaanxi Province (Mentioned in Fallout 4)
- The People's Nuclear Missile Silo 27 (Fallout Extreme)
- The People's Nuclear Missile Silo 31 (Fallout Extreme)
- Yangtze River (Mentioned in Fallout 2, Fallout: New Vegas)
Chinese equipmentEdit
- Chinese officer's sword - A sword carried by Chinese officers.
- Jingwei's shocksword - Personal sword of the Chinese general Jingwei.
- Shanxi Type 17 Chinese pistol - A 10mm pistol used by soldiers, as a sidearm.
- Zhu-Rong v418 Chinese pistol - A unique Shanxi Type 17 incendiary pistol model created by L.O.B. Enterprises.
- Type 93 Chinese assault rifle - An assault rifle 5.56mm, main weapon of the Chinese army.
- Chinese jumpsuit - Military uniform worn by Chinese soldiers.
- Winterized Chinese jumpsuit - Uniform worn by Chinese soldiers in Alaska.
- Chinese commando hat - Military hat worn by Chinese soldiers.
- Hat of the People - A special model of the Chinese commando hat.
- Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual
- Chinese stealth armor- Worn by elite Crimson Dragoon units.
- Submariner uniform - Navy uniform, worn only by Captain Zao in the Commonwealth.
- Submariner hat - Navy hat, worn by Captain Zao and the first mate of the Yangtze in Commonwealth.
|The following is based on Fallout Tactics and some details might contradict canon.
- MEC Gauss minigun - A Chinese heavy weapon used during the Great War.
|End of information based on Fallout Tactics.
|The following is based on Fallout Shelter and some details might contradict canon.
In Fallout Shelter Vault dwellers will comment that they would like to visit the Great Wall of China, and believe that it is still standing.
|End of information based on Fallout Shelter.
China is mentioned in every Fallout game, and was to appear in the canceled Fallout Extreme.
- ↑ according to non-canon Sierra Depot GNN transcript
- ↑ The only explicit mention of China being socialist in any of the original Fallout games is in dialogue with the Enclave of United States President Dick Richardson, who called the Chinese "damn Reds"; it is also referred to as socialist in the Fallout Bible timeline, in Frank Horrigan's dialogue files and the Van Buren tech demo; Fallout 3 is more explicit in its portrayal of China as a 'socialist' nation, for example, during the "Tranquility Lane" quest, where the player is to activate the "communist invasion simulation" and Liberty Prime's pre-recorded anti-communist speeches input by pre-War American scientists.
- ↑ Broken Steel Presidential Metro PA system
- ↑ according to non-canon Sierra Depot GNN transcript. A Chinese deep sea oil rig was damaged with some sabotage, but neither country went to war over this.
- ↑ Hei Gui armor as possible part of equipment is confirmed by one of Van Buren screenshots also


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Related Product Information
Dynabeads Biotin Binder in combination with biotinylated antibodies are ideal for depletion or positive isolation of cells from any species depending on the specificity of the antibody. Other biotinylated molecules (e.g., peptides/proteins, lectins, nucleic acids) may also be used depending on the target. Cells can be directly isolated from any sample, such as whole blood, bone marrow, mononuclear suspensions, or tissue digests.
Note: If you want to perform positive cell isolation with biotinylated antibodies followed by bead detachment, please use CELLection™ Biotin Binder (Cat. no. 161.02). If you want to use biotinylated ligands for molecular applications such as protein purifications, DNA/RNA binding protein isolations, preparing single-stranded templates, etc., please see www.lifetechnologies.com for other streptavidin-coated beads.
Principle of Isolation
Either add the biotinylated antibody to the cell sample (indirect technique) or pre-coat onto the beads (direct technique) prior to cell isolation. Mix the Dynabeads with the cell sample in a tube. The Dynabeads will bind to the target cells during a short incubation, and then separate the beadbound cells by a magnet.
- Positive Isolation - discard the supernatant and use the bead-bound cells for downstream applications.
- Depletion - discard the bead-bound cells and use the remaining, untouched cells for any application.
Description of Materials
Dynabeads Biotin Binder are uniform, superparamagnetic polystyrene beads (2.8 μm diameter) coated with recombinant streptavidin. The streptavidin coated onto Dynabeads will bind most biotinylated ligands. Unwanted binding of cells to streptavidin via lectin-like receptors or other adhesive receptors is avoided since the recombinant streptavidin contains neither sugar nor the RYDsequence.
Materials Supplied
5 ml Dynabeads Biotin Binder 4 x 108 beads/ml in phosphate buffered saline (PBS), pH 7.4, containing 0.1% BSA and 0.02% sodium azide (NaN3). This product will process up to 2 x 109 cells.
Additional Materials Required
- Biotinylated ligand (e.g. antibodies, peptides/proteins, lectins or nucleic acids).
- Magnet (Dynal MPC™): See www.lifetechnologies.com/magnets-selection for magnet recommendations.
- Mixer allowing both tilting and rotation.
- Buffer 1: PBS w/0.1% BSA and 2 mM EDTA, pH 7.4.
Important Notes:
Serum or serum albumin fractions may contain free biotin and should not be used. Dynal recommends Bovine Serum Albumin fraction V from Sigma (cat. no. A4503 or equivalent), which does not contain free biotin. Do not use culture media as it may contain free biotin. BSA can be replaced by other biotin-free blocking proteins or 1 mg/ml pluronic (F68). EDTA can be replaced by sodium citrate. PBS containing Ca2+ or Mg2+ is not recommended.
Dynabeads Washing Procedure
Dynabeads should be washed before use.
- Resuspend the Dynabeads in the vial.
- Transfer the desired volume of Dynabeads to a tube.
- Add the same volume of Buffer 1, or at least 1 ml, and mix.
- Place the tube in a magnet for 1 min and discard the supernatant.
- Remove the tube from the magnet and resuspend the washed Dynabeads in the same volume of Buffer 1 as the initial volume of Dynabeads (step 2).
Sample Preparation
Whole Blood and Buffy Coat
Whole blood and buffy coat may be washed before use to remove interfering factors.
1. Dilute the whole blood or buffy coat in Buffer 1 (1+2).
2. Centrifuge at 600 x g for 10 min at RT (18-25°C).
3. Discard the plasma fraction/upper layer.
4. Resuspend to the original volume in Buffer 1 (2-8°C).
MNC Preparation from Whole Blood, Buffy Coat, or Bone Marrow
1. Resuspend at 1 x 107 cells per ml in Buffer 1 (2-8°C).
Please contact technical center for a list of recommended human and mouse sample preparation procedures.
Critical Steps for Cell Isolation
Use a mixer that provides tilting and rotation of the tubes to ensure Dynabeads do not settle at the bottom of the tube. When incubating Dynabeads and cells, the incubation temperature must be 2-8°C to reduce phagocytic activity and other metabolic processes. Never use less than 25 μl (1 x 107) Dynabeads per ml cell sample and at least 4 Dynabeads per target cell.
Table 1: Volume of Dynabeads added per ml of cell sample. The volumes can be scaled up as required.
|Positive isolation
|Sample volume (1 x 107 cells/ml*)
|1 ml Max 2.5 x 106
target cells
|1 ml Max 2.5 x 106
target cells
|Volume of Dynabeads
|25 μl
|50 μl
* If the concentration of cells is increased or the target cell concentration exceeds 2.5 x 106, the Dynabeads volume must be increased accordingly. Cell concentration can be up to 1 x 108 cells per ml.
Cell Isolation - Indirect Technique
Labeling Cells with Biotinylated Antibodies or Ligands
Label cells with biotinylated antibody as recommended by the manufacturer. If necessary, optimize incubation time, antibody titer, and cell concentration for best signal to noise ratio. Use approximately 1 μg biotinylated antibody per 106 target cells (if no other recommendation is stated) and ≥ 1 x 107 cells/ml.
- Add primary antibody to the cell suspension and mix.
- Incubate for 10 min at 2-8°C.
- Wash the cells by adding 2 ml Buffer 1 per 1 x 107 cells and centrifuge at 300 x g for 8 min. Discard the supernatant.
- Resuspend the cells in Buffer 1 at 1 x 107 cells per ml.
- Proceed to Isolation or Depletion of Cells.
Isolation or Depletion of Cells
- Add Dynabeads to the prepared sample according to table 1.
- Incubate for 20 min (positive isolation) or 30 min (depletion) at 2-8°C with gentle tilting and rotation.
- Optional: double the volume with Buffer 1 to limit trapping of unbound cells.
- Place the tube in a magnet for 3 min.
- Depletion: Transfer the supernatant containing the unbound cells to a fresh tube for further experiments.
- Positive isolation: Discard the supernatant and gently wash the bead-bound cells 4 times, using the following procedure:
- Resuspend the cells in buffer/medium for downstream application.
i). Add 1 ml Buffer 1 per 1 x 107 Dynabeads.
ii).Place the tube in the magnet for 2 min and discard the supernatant.
Cell Isolation - Direct Technique
Pre-coating Dynabeads
- Use 0.5-1.5 μg biotinylated antibody per 25 μl (1 x 107) Dynabeads. It is recommended to titrate the amount of antibody.
- Transfer washed Dynabeads to a tube.
- Add biotinylated antibodies.
- Incubate for > 30 min with gentle tilting and rotation.
- Place the tube in a magnet for 2 min and discard the supernatant.
- Wash the beads twice using 2 ml of Buffer 1.
- Remove the tube from the magnet and resuspend the washed Dynabeads in the same volume of Buffer 1 as the initial volume of Dynabeads.
Isolation or Depletion of Target Cells
- Add the pre-coated Dynabeads to the cells according to table 1.
- Incubate for 20 min (positive isolation) or 30 min (depletion) at 2-8°C with gentle tilting and rotation.
- Optional: double the volume with Buffer 1 to limit trapping of unbound cells.
- Place the tube in a magnet for 3 min.
- Depletion: Transfer the supernatant containing the unbound cells to a fresh tube for further experiments.
- Positive isolation: Discard the supernatant and gently wash the bead-bound cells 4 times, using the following procedure:
i). Add 1 ml Buffer 1 per 1 x 107 Dynabeads.
ii).Place the tube in the magnet for 2 min and discard the supernatant.
7. Resuspend the cells in buffer/medium for downstream application.
Indirect versus Direct Technique
Use the indirect technique when:
- A cocktail of biotinylated antibodies is used.
- Very high depletion efficiency is needed.
- The affinities of biotinylated monoclonal antibodies are low.
- The cells express low number of target antigens.
- The direct technique gives unsatisfactory purity.
The direct technique may be used if:
- The affinity of the biotinylated antibody is high.
- The cells express a high number of target antigens.
- A stock preparation of pre-coated Dynabeads is desired.
Antibody Selection
The choice of biotinylated antibody is the most important factor for successful cell isolation. Note that some antibodies may show reduced antigen-binding efficiency when coated onto beads (direct technique), even though the antibody shows good results in other immunological assays. Some antibodies may be delivered in buffers containing high levels of free biotin. To be able to precoat the Dynabeads (direct technique), the free biotin needs to be removed (e.g., dialysis or spin column with MW 10, 000 cut-off).
Labeling Cells with Biotinylated Antibodies
- To avoid non-specific binding of cells (e.g. monocytes, B cells), add aggregated IgG to block Fc receptors prior to adding the biotinylated antibody.
- Excess antibody must be removed by washing before cell isolation.
Isolation and Depletion of Target Cells
- Remove density gradient media (e.g., Ficoll): Wash cells prior to adding biotinylated antibodies or Dynabeads.
- Remove soluble factors in serum: Serum may contain soluble factors (e.g. antibodies, cell surface antigens), which can interfere with the cell isolation protocol. Washing the cells once may reduce this interference.
This product is stable until the expiry date stated on the label when stored unopened at 2-8°C. Store opened vials at 2-8°C and avoid bacterial contamination. Keep Dynabeads in liquid suspension during storage and all handling steps, as drying will result in reduced performance. Resuspend well before use.
Warnings And Limitations
This product is for research use only. Not intended for any animal or human therapeutic or diagnostic use unless otherwise stated. Follow appropriate laboratory guidelines. This product contains 0.02% sodium azide as a preservative, which is cytotoxic.
Avoid pipetting by mouth!
Sodium azide may react with lead and copper plumbing to form highly explosive metal azides. When disposing through plumbing drains, flush with large volumes of water to prevent azide build up. Certificate of Analysis (CoA) is available upon request. Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) is available at .
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.


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Starting college? Here's how to graduate with a job
If you're heading off to college this fall, all sorts of people have the same advice for you. Former teachers, your parents' friends, The Wall Street Journal: They all want to help you get a job when you graduate, and they want you to earn enough out of the gate to make a big dent in your student loans, which means they're nudging you to study engineering, math, or computer science.
Business leaders and lawmakers are always talking about how the economy needs more hard-science majors. The job market reflects this.
Last year, the average starting salary for an engineering major was $62,655, tops among the eight categories of majors tracked in a Labor Department study. In 2009, the unemployment rate for math and computer science grads a year after earning their degrees was 6 percent — half the rate for humanities or social science majors.
So that's the secret? Major in math or science, graduate, walk right into a good gig?
For most of you, no.
New research from Berea College in Kentucky and the University of Western Ontario suggests fewer than half of the students who start out as science majors end up earning a science degree.
Chalk this up to ''misperceptions about their ability to perform well academically in science.'' Translation: STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) classes are challenging, perhaps especially so for students less interested in the subject s than in chasing a lucrative degree.
As an economics reporter, I feel compelled to say that if you're interested in science or computers, and you have the aptitude, then give a STEM major a shot. The economy needs more math and science grads to drive the big innovations.
As a former political science major, I'm happy to tell everyone who doesn't fall into that camp that there's hope for you, too. But you'll have a better chance if you start thinking now about how to use your time in school to hone skills that will improve your employability.
Consider this your step-by-step guide:
■ Step 1: Start thinking during orientation about a job. Several college career counselors say the sooner you turn your mind toward the work world, and what you'll need to do to succeed in it, the better.
Spend some serious time thinking about how you're wired, what you enjoy, and what sorts of jobs might allow you to follow your interests and get paid in the process.
''The general advice we give students is, first and foremost, look at themselves,'' says Lorie Logan-Bennett, director of the career center at Towson University in Maryland.
■ Step 2: Don't pick a job yet. With rare exceptions, such as aspiring doctors, you probably shouldn't lock yourself in early on at a four-year school. Your self-exploration is likely to take a while and could include changing your major at least once. And your future job market is apt to change while you're in college.
(Note to community college enrollees: The reverse might be true for you. You could save yourself money and maximize your future earnings by asking pointed questions very early about what degree or certificate you plan to pursue; how likely it is that you'll complete that degree, given your academic record; and what sort of job prospects await grads in that field.)
Andy Chan is vice president for career development at Wake Forest University and a pioneer in a new wave of thinking about career counseling. His approach focuses less on steering students to jobs and more on preparing them for what employers need. ''I teach students not to think about industries first,'' Chan says. ''I teach them to think about skills and functions.''
■ Step 3: Sharpen those skills. You might not know which jobs will be plentiful when you graduate, but economists have decent predictions. The sooner you start working to build those skills, in and out of the classroom, the better your odds of landing one of those jobs.
Broadly, think of those skills as ''anything humans still do better than robots.''
As economists Frank Levy of MIT and Richard Murnane of Harvard explain, that means solving unstructured problems and working with new information. This is a big shift from in previous generations, when you could make good money just by being good at following directions.
''Today, work that consists of following clearly specified directions is increasingly being carried out by computers and workers in lower-wage countries,'' they write. ''The remaining jobs that pay enough to support families require a deeper level of knowledge and the skills to apply it.''
That means you need to read critically, to sort the important information from the junk quickly, and to try new approaches until you find a solution. Murnane says students need to learn to work in teams and ''to write very, very well.'' Levy says students should select classes that build those skills, with strict evaluation: ''Look for courses where there's an emphasis on project work that is taken seriously and graded seriously. So it's not just plugging in formulas.''
Career counselors say there are more granular skills all students should build, as well, such as mastering social media or computer coding.
Beverly Lorig, at Washington and Lee University, says you'll need to learn to mine statistics for trends and analysis. ''Data is the new need that every business and every industry has, being able to make sense out of data,'' she says. ''Whether you're a history major or a finance major, you need to have experience reading complex data and understanding how to make good decisions.''
■ Step 4: Build your resume and your brand. Chan has a goal for students every year: He wants at least half to set up LinkedIn profiles. It's partly to help them see the university's connections in the work world. And it's partly to get them thinking about entering the workforce, well before they do it. ''Make a brand for yourself'' is his advice. ''What would make you more marketable than the average person out there?''
If there is one thing every college career development official stresses, it's how much work outside the classroom, particularly an internship or eight, can help students find jobs. Many call this ''applied experience,'' and they say employers demand it more every year. ''We have seen the conversation change from desirable to expected, almost,'' says Logan-Bennett. ''If you're graduating without applied experience in some way, shape or form, you really are at a disadvantage.''
Employers spend less on training than they did a decade ago. They expect students to walk in ready to go.
■ Step 5: Prepare to begin humbly. The upside of a constantly shifting job market is that graduates don't need to worry as much about finding the perfect position, with the well-formed ladder of advancement attached. Industries and jobs and even individual job descriptions change overnight.
Chan reminds students they're looking for a first job, not a lifelong one. He points many toward consulting, banking, sales training, digital media, teaching, or customer service, knowing they have plenty of time to advance. Too many students think they need to go into management or management training right away, he says.
''People are trying to measure the value of your education by how much money you make in your first job out of school,'' Chan says. ''I think that's messed up.''
Chan is a good example of how you don't have to be a STEM grad to go places. After college, he worked for a big management consulting firm, for Clorox Co., and in several marketing roles. He led an educational software start-up. He ran the career center at the Stanford business school.
His degree is in political science.


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Taylorville at Lanphier
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. today
WHERE: Lober-Nika Gymnasium
ON THE AIR: WTIM (97.3 FM), 6:20 p.m.
LAST SEASON�S GAMES: Lanphier beat Taylorville 85-40 on Dec. 14, 2012; Lanphier beat Taylorville 80-61 on Jan. 26, 2013.
PREVIOUS MEETING: Lanphier beat Taylorville 72-56 on Dec. 20
PROBABLE LINEUPS: TAYLORVILLE � 6-1 Thomas Snyder (Jr., C); 6-2 Grant Livingston (Sr., F); 6-0 Jack Fulk (Sr., F); 6-3 Kyle Wilhour (Sr., G); Jeff McChristy (Sr., G). LANPHIER � 6-7 Scottie Wallace (Sr., C); 6-4 Darius Millican (Sr., F); 6-1 DeAndre Alexander (Sr., G); 5-7 Xavier Bishop (So., G); 6-2 Larry Austin Jr. (Sr., G).
PARTICULARS: This is Taylorville�s last trip to Lober-Nika Gymnasium, where the Tornadoes have not won since a 69-62 decision on Feb. 10, 2006. Taylorville is joining the Apollo Conference next season. ... Larry Austin Jr. had 71 points in the three games of the City Tournament last week, leading Lanphier to the championship. Lanphier coach Blake Turner has said his team�s goal this season is to win a championship every month. So far the Lions are 3-0 with the possibility of winning the CS8 crown in February and � the ultimate goal � a state championship in March.
Rochester at Sacred Heart-Griffin
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. today
WHERE: Jim Belz Gymnasium
ON THE AIR: none
LAST SEASON�S GAMES: SHG beat Rochester 51-31 on Jan. 5; SHG beat Rochester 53-52 on Jan. 26
PREVIOUS MEETING: SHG beat Rochester 52-49 on Jan. 11
PROBABLE LINEUPS: ROCHESTER � 6-7 Matt Swaine (Sr., C); 6-3 Ryan Neal (Sr., F); 6-4 Collin Stallworth (Fr., F); 6-0 Howard Fisher (Jr., G); 5-8 Dalton Handlin (So., G). SHG � 6-1 Nate Lowis (Sr., F); 6-4 Ben Sestak (Jr., F); 6-5 Sean McDonald (Jr., G); 6-2 Malik Turner (Sr., G); 6-1 Gabe Green (Sr., G).
PARTICULARS: The last two meetings between these teams were nail-biters. Sean McDonald hit the go-ahead 3-pointer for the Cyclones at Rochester earlier this month. SHG survived last season when Jesse Heissinger�s half-court desperation shot from mid-court missed at the end of regulation.
Lincoln at Southeast
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. today
WHERE: Scheffler Gymnasium
ON THE AIR: WLCN (96.3 FM), 6 p.m.; WFMB (1450 AM), 6:15 p.m.
LAST SEASON�S GAMES: Lincoln beat Southeast 52-50 on Dec. 14; Lincoln beat Southeast 47-27 on Jan. 26
PREVIOUS MEETING: Lincoln beat Southeast 40-31 on Dec. 20
PROBABLE LINEUPS: LINCOLN � 6-6 Gavin Block (Jr., F); 6-3 Edward Bowlby (Sr., F); 5-11 Tyler Horchem (Sr., F); 6-0 Joey Olden (Sr., G); 6-2 Max Cook (Sr., G). SOUTHEAST � 6-9 Jalen Henry (Sr., C); 6-4 Sabree Bakari (Jr., F); 5-9 B.J. Hill (Jr., G); 5-10 D�Angelo Hughes (So., G); 5-6 Aundrae Williams (Fr., G).
PARTICULARS: This is a game between last season�s CS8 co-champs. Both teams finished the conference schedule at 14-2. One night after a 44-41 loss to SHG knocked Lincoln off the top of the CS8, the Railers held the Spartans to a season-low 27 points to regain a share of the conference lead. Edward Bowlby had a game-high 11 points for the Railers in that game while Gavin Block and Jalen Henry each had 10 for their teams.
Jacksonville at Springfield High
WHEN: 6:30 p.m. today
WHERE: Willard Duey Gymnasium
ON THE AIR: WEAI (107.1 FM), 6:15 p.m.
LAST SEASON�S GAMES: Jacksonville beat Springfield 48-40 on Jan. 26; Jacksonville beat Springfield 35-27 on Feb. 22
PREVIOUS MEETING: first meeting this season
PROBABLE LINEUPS: JACKSONVILLE � 6-7 Blake Hance (Sr., F); 6-2 Tyler Ring (Sr., F); 6-1 Michael Fisher (Sr., G); 6-0 Nick Kaufmann (Jr., G); 5-11 Clark Silas (Sr., G). SPRINGFIELD HIGH � 6-8 Obediah Church (Jr., C); 6-0 Josiah Small (Jr., F); 6-0 Keon Day (So., G); 5-9 Isaac Nelson (So., G); 5-7 Taivon Kincaid (Jr., G).
PARTICULARS: Jacksonville was off Friday and comes into this matchup at 7-13 overall and 1-8 in the CS8. . . . The Crimsons swept the Senators last year after a 1-6 mark against Springfield High over the previous three seasons. Jacksonville�s only victory in that span was a 63-56 win in the 2010 Class 3A Jacksonville Regional semifinals.
� Ryan Mahan


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One of the often overlooked raid support curses in a Warlock's arsenal is Curse of Recklessness
Instant cast
Before we can look at the benefits of this spell, we need to look at how raid boss attack power and armor work, and how they will be effected by this spell.
Obviously the more you can reduce a target's armor, the more physical DPS you are going to generate. This is most helpful to melee and hunters. The generally accepted armor values for raid level bosses fall into two categories, 6200 or 7700 armor. See http://elitistjerks.com/496799-post8.html for details.
Bosses with 6200 armor
Base Reduction: 37% (6200 armor)
Sundered 5x: 2543% (3600 armor) – increase for Sunder: 18.36%
Faerie Fire: 22.07% (2990 armor) – increase for FF: 4.5%
CoR: 17.11% (2180 armor) – increase for CoR: 6.36%
Bosses with 7700 armor
Base Reduction: 42.17% (7700 armor)
Sundered 5x: 32.57% (5100 armor) – increase for Sunder: 16.61%
Faerie Fire: 29.84% (4490 armor) – increase for FF: 405%
CoR: 25.85% (3680 armor) – increase for CoR: 5.69%
The heavier your raid is on melee and hunters, the more benefit you will receive from Curse of Recklessness. Let's not forget that this will also increase your tank's DPS on the bos as well, thus increasing threat also.
Now, we're also boosting the bosses Attack Power by 135, and that's bad, right? Well, yes it is, but this boost can be easily offset as long as you have at least 1 warrior who is spec'd into 5/5 Improved Demoralizing Shout.
It is speculated that most raid bosses have approximate 330 base Attack Power. With an added 135 AP from CoR, we expect to have a raid boss to have somewhere in the neighborhood of 475 AP. A 5/5 Improved Demoralizing Shout will reduce the attack power by 420, thus leaving the boss with a modified 55 AP. (Source: http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t18771-protection_warrior/ )
In the end, in many raid encounters, it can be highly beneficial to use Curse of Recklessness on raid bosses, when you have the proper raid setup (5+ physical DPS and a 5/5 Imp Demo Shout Warrior). There are some bosses that it is advised to not use CoR on. Some raid bosses to consider NOT using CoR would be the following: Azgalor, Gurtogg Bloodboil, Essence of Suffering, and Mother Shahraz. These encounters are some of which the added attack power that the boss receives would potentially outweigh the benefit of increased physical DPS.


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Aishwarya Rai New Born Baby Photos & Video
Aishwarya Rai new born baby photos & videos will be very demanding. Highest bidder will get the first images of the celebrity baby. Whole nation, even the whole world is waiting eagerly to she the baby girl's face, how she looks like, is she like her mother Aishwarya or like her father Abhishek … many questions in the air to answer.
In the latest of Aishwarya Rai baby news, it appears one of India's leading photographers is calling the newborn girl "beautiful." In fact he may believe she is even more beautiful than her mother, if that is even possible!
So who is heaping such praise on the Bachchan baby? Dabboo Ratnani is a well-known fashion and celebrity photographer for India. Among his work are the cover shoots for Cosmo, Filmfare, Elle, and Ok India, among others. Not only that; he was part of the 2006 Miss India jury. With over 56,000 Twitter followers and almost 54,000 "Like" clicks on his Facebook, he's amassed interested fans.
So far there have not been any photos released of the Bachchan baby, but maybe Dabboo will be the first to snap some shots. Just recently, Ratnani weighed in with his comments about Aishwarya Rai's baby girl. Dabboo sent forth on his Twitter profile hours ago:
Just met my bro @juniorbachchan 's GORGEOUS little Angel ! Must admit that she is more Beautiful than Aishwarya
This is certainly a high compliment for the new baby girl born to Aishwarya Rai and husband Abhishek Bachchan. Certainly Dabboo is qualified as one who knows beauty based on his work and previous Miss India experience. However, is he merely trying to get some future photography work here by praising the baby girl early on? Time will tell if Aishwarya's daughter can win pageants and beauty contests, but if she's anything like mom, that shouldn't be too much trouble!
In the latest of the Aishwarya Rai baby news, proud father Abhishek Bachchan loves the title that's been bestowed on his newborn girl. According to reports, the baby girl's name so far is "Beti B."
That latest Bachchan addition to the f
amily has been welcomed by many including the proud parents, friends of the Bollywood couple, and their parents. Abhishek goes by the handle @JuniorBachchan on Twitter, as he is the son of Amitabh Bachchan. As of this report, the Bachchan family has yet to give a name to their new baby girl.
However, it appears a nickname has stuck. According to Bollywood Life, Abhishek recently posted the message on Twitter:
"And till we find a name for the little lady a dear friend
@ShahanaGoswami gave me a great one. We have Sr B and Jr B already so… Beti B!"
So the new baby girl will go by Beti B. That's a good start, but people must be wondering what is taking the couple so long to choose the right name. Is there an argument going on in the family over who should choose? Are they just taking their time to find the perfect name with a great translated meaning? Or is it just possible that Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai are simply worn out from the baby delivery? What do you think?


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Balenciaga Le Dix Cartable S Crossbody BagCategories:Other Brands
Last month, I expressed my appreciation of the recent marbleized trend, and this month, my love has yet to dissipate. Especially now that I've laid eyes on Balenciaga's latest Le Dix Cartable bag. It looked great in black leather with white piping, and now the style has been reinvented yet again in a print worthy of a Greek goddess or a Roman holiday.
There is something coolly unexpected about the brand's way with the pattern. In creamy white contrasted with black ripples, it resembles something that could have been snatched from a museum's ancient collection. Set on the silhouette of a ladylike top handle-to-modern crossbody, depending how you choose to carry it, it oozes sophistication. It appears Balenciaga has what it takes to make the Le Dix hold our interest for the long haul. I'm looking forward to seeing what motif they come up with next. Balenciaga Le Dix for $1,925.
Tags: bag Balenciaga S Crossbody LE DIX CARTABLE
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BALENCIAGA LE DIX SOFT MINI CARTABLE BAGCategories:Other Brands
The Balenciaga Le Dix Bag has been revisited and reintroduced, now in Mini and Soft version – more feminine, more love.
I find it a gorgeous bag for the daily chic woman, and for the working girl. The combination of Alexander Wang's original vision and Balenciaga craftsmanship is what put the Le Dix Soft Mini Cartable Bag on this world.
Le Dix, Le Dix, a name inspired by the 10 Avenue George V flagship boutiques. A practical accessory that can be used as an everyday bag. It features a modern top handle, a leather strap that be removed or adjusted – carry it on your hand or shoulder.
It got the story and style, an oversized luggage tag that represents class. Perhaps the bag looks simple, you know, single colored with palladium and brushed gold refinements, but underneath and inside, the architecture is quite sophisticated.
Like…the dual slider under the flap, the closing snap and press stud closing system to optimal the security of your essential. It comes with a mirror in a trapezoid case, another mirror and closing snap embossed with Balenciaga.Paris logo. You will also find a large flap pocket a closing snap at the front.
Made from grained calfskin, a material that's durable and strong. Even tough the Le Dix has everything what a woman needs, it's not yet entirely accepted by the Balenciaga fans. Perhaps we are still addicted to the traditional motorcycle bags.
Measuring 7' x 9' x 4' (H x W x D), priced at $1935 USD via Mytheresa.
Tags: bag Balenciaga Mini Soft LE DIX CARTABLE
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BALENCIAGA LE DIX CARTABLE S PYTHON BAGCategories:Other Brands
Here the proof that a twist can make a huge difference; it's the story about the Balenciaga Le Dix New Cartable S Python Bag. And don't get too excited by its name, but get excited because by its beauty.
It's chic but playful, the combination of python and bright color creates an indescribable feeling. It doesn't make it easier when you figure it out that it is sold-out online.
Let us tell you more about its story…
You see, you can either get it in Pochette-shape or shoulder bag. Both are stunning, the very long name is inspired by the 10 Avenue George V Flagship boutiques. Interesting right?
It's mixed with exotic leather and calfskin, to be exact, the front is made from python and the other parts are calfskin leather. It's also mixed with contrasted colors like white and soft-yellow or white with soft-pink.
The bag is structured and holds shape. Obviously if you choose the shoulder bag, it comes with an adjustable strap that can also be removed. And to make it even more interesting, the interior features a mirror in a trapezoid case. And the closing snap on the front is embellished with the logo 'Balenciaga.Paris'.
I love everything about Paris, and you?
Balenciaga Le Dix New Cartable S Python Bag
Size: 29 x 23 x 12 (W x H x D)
Price: $2495 USD, €1675 euro
Balenicaga Le Dix Pochette Cartable Strap Python Bag
Size: 31 x 20 x 8 (W x H x D)
Price: $2195 USD, €1475 euro
Tags: bag Balenciaga Python S LE DIX CARTABLE


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Characterized by a distinctive, one-of-a-kind beauty, Amanda Seyfried mesmerizes everyone with her blue eyes and long, blonde hairstyle. The 25-year-old actress has something special that makes her so delightful and sweet, yet uncommon and surreal. In the March 2011 issue of "Interview" magazine, Amanda Seyfried looks absolutely out of this world in a shoot photographed by Mikael Jansson. As for the interview in the magazine, this is rather unusual also, Amanda sharing numerous things to Justin Timberlake with whom she stars in the ... Read More


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Associated Press
DALLAS — Former NFL wide receiver Sam Hurd has been sentenced to 15 years for his role in a drug-distribution scheme.
Hurd received the punishment Wednesday in a federal courtroom in Dallas.
He pleaded guilty in April to one count of trying to buy and distribute cocaine and marijuana, which carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison.
Authorities say that while NFL teammates and friends knew Hurd as a hardworking wide receiver and a married father, he was fashioning a separate identity as a wannabe drug kingpin.
He was arrested in December 2011 outside a suburban Chicago steakhouse after he tried to buy cocaine in what turned out to be a sting.
At the time, Hurd was a wide receiver with stints for the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press


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Bernard Lewis is the Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Easter Studies Emeritus at Princeton University. His new book, Faith and Power: Religion and Politics in the Middle East, illuminates the role of religion in the Middle East, revealing how it has shaped society for good and for ill. In the excerpt below, which looks at Islamic government, we learn about the long history of religion intertwining with governmental authority.
Every civilization formulates its own idea of good government, and creates institutions through which it endeavors to put that idea into effect. Since classical antiquity these institutions in the West have usually included some form of council or assembly, through which qualified members of the polity participate in the formation, conduct, and, on occasion, replacement of the government. The polity may be variously defined; so, too, may be the qualifications that entitle a member of the polity to participate in its governance. Sometimes, as in the ancient Greek city, the participation of citizens may be direct. More often qualified participants will, by some agreed-upon and recurring procedure, choose some form among their own numbers to represent them. These assemblies are of many different kinds, with differently defined electorates and functions, often with some role in the making of decisions, the enactment of laws, and the levying of taxes.
The effective functioning of such bodies was made possible by the principle embodied in Roman law, and in systems derived from it, of the legal person – that is to say, a corporate entity that for legal purposes is treated as an individual, able to own, buy or sell property, enter into contracts and obligations, and appear as either plaintiff or defendant in both civil and criminal proceedings. There are signs that such bodies existed in a pre-Islamic Arabia. They disappeared with the advent of Islam, and from the time of the Prophet until the first introduction of Western institutions in the Islamic world there was no equivalent among the Muslim people of the Athenian boule, the Roman Senate, the Jewish Sanhedrin, the Icelandic Althing or the Anglo-Saxon Witenagemot, or any of the innumerable parliaments, councils, synods, diets, chambers, and assemblies of every kind that flourished all over Christendom.
One obstacle to the emergence of such bodies was the absence of any legal recognition of corporate persons. There were some limited moves in the direction of recognition. Islamic commercial law recognizes various forms of partnership for limited business purposes. A waaf, a pious foundation, once settled is independent of its settlor and can in theory continue indefinitely, with the right to own, acquire, and alienate property. But these never developed beyond their original purposes, and at no point reached anything resembling the governmental, ecclesiastical, and private corporate entities of the West.
Thus almost all aspects of Muslim government have an intensely personal character. In principle, at least, there is no state, but only a ruler; no court, but only a judge. There is not even a city with defined powers, limits, and functions, but only an assemblage of neighborhoods, mostly defined by family, tribal, ethnic, or religious criteria, and governed by officials, usually military, appointed by the sovereign. Even the famous Ottoman imperial divan – the divan-i humayun – described by many Western visitors as a council, could more accurately be described as a meeting, on fixed days during the week, of high political, administrative, judicial, financial, and military officers, presided over in earlier times by the sultan, in later times by the grand vizier. Matters brought before the meeting were referred to the relevant member of the divan, who might make a recommendation. The final responsibility and decision lay with the sultan or the grand vizier.
One of the major functions of such bodies in the West, increasingly through the centuries, was legislation. According to Muslim doctrine, there was no legislative function in the Islamic state, and therefore no need for legislative institutions. The Islamic state was in a principle a theocracy – not in the Western sense of a state ruled by the church and the clergy, since neither existed in the Islamic world, but in the more literal sense of a polity ruled by God. For believing Muslims, legitimate authority comes from God alone, and the ruler derives his power not from the people, nor yet from his ancestors, but from God and the holy law. In practice, and in defiance of these beliefs, dynastic succession became the norm, but it was never given the sanction of the holy law. Rulers made rules, but these were considered, theoretically, as elaborations or interpretations of the only valid law – that of God, promulgated by revelation. In principle the state was God's state, ruling over God's people; the law was God's law; the army was God's army; and the enemy, of course, was God's enemy.
Without legislative or any other kind of corporate bodies, there was no need for any principle of representation or any procedure for choosing representatives. There was no occasion for collective decision, and no need therefore for any procedure for achieving and expressing it, other than consensus. Such central issues of Western political development as the conduct of elections and the definition and extension of the franchise therefore had no place in Islamic political evolution.
Not surprisingly, in view of these differences, the history of the Islamic states is one of almost unrelieved autocracy. The Muslim subject owed obedience to a legitimate Muslim ruler as a religious duty. That is to say, disobedience was a sin as well as a crime.
Modernization in the nineteenth century, and still more in the twentieth, far from reducing this autocracy, substantially increased it. On the one hand, modern technology, communications, and weaponry greatly reinforced the rulers' powers of surveillance, indoctrination, and repression. On the other hand, social and economic modernization enfeebled or abrogated the religious constraints and intermediate powers that had in various ways limited earlier autocracies. No Arab caliph or Turkish sultan of the past could ever have achieved the arbitrary and pervasive power wielded by even the pettiest of present-day dictators.


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The Sydney Morning Herald
Skin cancer linked to evolution of dark skin in early humans
February 26, 2014
Nicky Phillips
Science Editor
Skin cancer may have driven the evolution of dark skin in early humans more than a million years ago, a study has found.
A British scientist has speculated that when early human species shed their body hair their light-coloured flesh would have been highly vulnerable to UV-induced skin cancer.
The skin beneath the fur of our nearest primate relative, the chimpanzee, is fair but early Homo sapiens in Africa were black.
Mel Greaves, a professor at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, said deaths from skin cancer may have provided enough selective pressure to drive the evolution of dark skin pigments.
"Dark or black skin lowers the risk of ultra-violet radiation induced skin cancer by several orders of magnitude," said Professor Greaves, in an analysis published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B journal on Wednesday.
People with white skin are about 70 times more likely to develop skin cancer than individuals with black skin.
Professor Greaves' has based her theory of dark skin evolution on the current high death rate of people with albinism from non-melanoma skin cancers.
The idea that skin cancer could have driven dark skin has previously been discounted by scientists because it was thought it was rarely fatal in young people and so would not affect their ability to reproduce, she said.
But recent studies have found that up to 80 per cent of black people with albinism in regions of Africa near the equator, where UV radiation exposure is high, develop lethal skin cancer before age 30. Similar trends have been shown in albinos outside of Africa, and in mice with the disorder, said Professor Greaves.
"This long-running natural experiment, and its experimental parallel with UVR-exposed albino mice, endorse the plausibility that black skin pigmentation could have arisen in early, pale-skinned hominins as a defence against lethal skin cancer," she said.
But Jeremy Austin, from the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA in Adelaide, said there were several other explanations for how dark skin evolved in sun-drenched environments.
The evolution of dark skin has been strongly linked to the way UV radiation influences sweat gland function, the permeability of the skin, which affects dehydration and overheating and the depletion of folate, which is critical during pregnancy.
"Albinism is really a special case," Dr Austin said.
While it made sense that albinism would be a trait selected against in high UV environments that did not explain the positive selection for dark skin.
"Dark skin grades from olive to totally black so there must be some selection pressure acting to balance the amount of melanin in the skin," he said.
Skin colour is mainly determined by the pigment melanin, which comes in three types, and the way it is packaged in specialised cells, found mainly in the skin, called melanosomes.
In people with dark skin the dark brown to black variety of melanin is packaged in a way that absorbs a large amount of the UV radiation that penetrates the skin, thereby protecting against DNA damage. In fair-skinned people, lighter melanin pigments are not as effective at filtering the sun's rays, nor do they scavenge free radicals, which are involved in cancer development, like the darker version of melanin. Albinism is caused by genetic changes that prevent melanin production.
Genetic studies have suggested that the appearance of a gene variant that promoted black pigmentation arose around the time early humans started occupying savanna landscapes in East Africa, about 1 to 2 million years ago.
Most scientists believe early humans lost their fur when they became bipedal hunter-gathers roaming savannas for food. Without fur they could sweat, a better method of regulating their body temperature during intense activity, such as chasing down dinner.
While Professor Greaves acknowledged that extrapolating the risk of skin cancers in albinos today as evidence of the evolution of dark skin was "clearly speculative", she said if early humans were pale-skinned they would likely have faced similar afflictions from skin cancer.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/skin-cancer-linked-to-evolution-of-dark-skin-in-early-humans-20140226-33hgx.html#ixzz2ufgwVkIo


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The 01641 area code is used for Strathy and it's surrounding areas.
In some situations, individual towns, villages and districts can include more that one UK area code, so it is
impossible to say that one particular location has a single area code.
Based on our research, we believe that we have come up with the most comprehensive list of UK locations that include
the 01641 area code. If however you find any innacurate information on our website,
please feel free to give it a "thumbs down" so that we can continue to improve our service.
01641 is classed as a Landline (Geographic) number. 01 and 02 Numbers are classed as geographic landlines which means that they are charged at standard call rates. 01 and 02 Numbers are usually included in any type of mobile or home phone calling package that you may have. 01 and 02 numbers are geographically bound, which means that you can determine the approximate location of the number.
Strathy is located in the county of Highland, Scotland. Postcodes in Strathy start with the prefix KW which makes it part of the Kirkwall post code town. Within a 5 mile radius lie the towns or cities of Armadale. There are no other districts or places within a couple of miles of Strathy


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bears for 5.3
Observe my Growling Bear style. I block blows...with my FACE.
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- Tinderhoof
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Re: bears for 5.3
You aren't going to drop haste for mastery. The buff will just work with your current mastery to give you some more cushion. I do know that some of the tank trinkets are actually decent on some fights. Just depends on your job and the order you tank in. http://www.theincbear.com is a much better Guardian resource then we are now. Arielle keeps up with all the changes and is a great resource.
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If I enable FileVault on Mountain Lion, will it make my machine ask me for my password more often?
For example, right now I have my machine configured so that when it goes to sleep, if I wake it up within 15 minutes, I don't need to enter my password when I wake it up. Can I still do that, if I enable FileVault? Or will FileVault force me to enter my password every time I wake up my machine, period?


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Long-time EC&M reader Joe Territo, president of Territo Electric in Ocoee, Fla., knows the importance of the requirements of Art. 440 and its growing role in facilities. A Territo client operates a multi-story building that exists for one purpose: to make and supply chilled water to nearby customers. Chilled water buildings have been popping up in cities across the country. And they have something in common with data centers, clinical labs, temperature-controlled industrial enclosures, and probably your own office—they fall under Art. 440, because they use electrically driven air conditioning and refrigeration equipment that has a hermetic refrigerant motor-compressor.
A hermetic refrigerant motor-compressor is a combination unit that consists of a compressor and motor enclosed in the same housing. These devices have no external shaft or shaft seals, and the motor operates in the refrigerant.
The requirements of Art. 440 don't cover household appliances like room air conditioners, household refrigerators and freezers, drinking water coolers, or beverage dispensing machines. These products are defined as appliances, and they must comply with the requirements of Art. 422.
To keep you from losing your cool on these projects let's take a closer look at the actual requirements of this article.
Disconnecting means. Art. 440 requires you to locate the disconnecting means within sight of, and readily accessible from, the air conditioning or refrigerating equipment. "Within sight" means visible from and not more than 50 feet from each other [Art. 100]. You can install the disconnecting means on or within the air conditioning or refrigerating equipment—but not on the access panels (Fig. 1).
This requirement has two exceptions:
- You can lock the switch open if the equipment is essential to an industrial process and the installation meets certain requirements.
- Where a plug and receptacle serve as the disconnecting means, they must be accessible. But they need not be readily accessible.
Circuit protectionThe requirements for protecting the branch-circuit conductors, control apparatus, and circuits that supply hermetic refrigerant motor-compressors against short circuits and ground faults are noted in 440.22.
The size and type of the short-circuit and ground-fault protection device for air conditioning and refrigeration equipment are often marked on the equipment nameplate. The manufacturer calculates these ratings per 440.22 and 440.32 (Fig. 2).
If the equipment nameplate specifies "Maximum Fuse Size," use a one-time or dual-element fuse. If the nameplate specifies "HACR Circuit Breaker," use an HACR-rated circuit breaker [110.3(B)].
Short-circuit and ground-fault protection can't exceed the nameplate ratings. If the equipment doesn't have a nameplate that specifies the size and type of protection device, how do you size those devices? That depends on whether you're sizing for multiple motors or a single motor.
Rating for equipment. Where the equipment incorporates more than one hermetic refrigerant motor-compressor, or a hermetic refrigerant motor-compressor and other motors or other loads, size the equipment short-circuit and ground-fault protection with the "largest load" method. The rating of the branch-circuit short-circuit and ground-fault protective device can't exceed the largest motor-compressor short-circuit ground-fault protection device plus the sum of the rated-load currents of the other compressors.
Size the branch-circuit conductors at 125% of the larger motor-compressor current plus the sum of the rated-load currents of the other compressors (440.33).
One motor compressor. The short-circuit and ground-fault protection device for motor-compressor conductors must be capable of carrying the starting current of the motor. The protection device also can't exceed 175% of the equipment load current rating.
If the protection device sized at 175% isn't capable of carrying the starting current of the motor-compressor, you can use the next larger protection device if it doesn't exceed 225% of the motor-compressor current rating.
Test your knowledge with this question: What size conductor and protection device must you use for a 24A motor-compressor on a 240V circuit (Fig. 3)
Step 1: Size the branch-circuit conductor per Table 310.16 and 440.32.
24A x 1.25 = 30A
Per 110.14(C)(1)(a) and Table 310.16, you would select a 10 AWG conductor, rated 30A at 60°C.
Step 2: Size the branch-circuit protection device per 240.6(A) and 440.22(A).
24A x 1.75 = 42A
Selecting the next size down protection device yields a 40A device.
If a 40A protection device isn't capable of carrying the starting current, you can size the protection device up to 225% of the equipment load current rating (24A x 2.25 = 54A, next size down 50A).
Conductor sizing. Size these branch-circuit conductors no smaller than the spec on the equipment nameplate. If the equipment doesn't have a nameplate that specifies the branch-circuit conductors, size the conductors per 440.32.
One motor compressor. Suppose your equipment isn't marked with minimum circuit ampacity. For each single motor compressor, use a branch-circuit conductor ampacity not less than 125% of the motor-compressor current. Protect branch-circuit conductors against short circuits and ground faults between 175% and 225% of the rated-load current. See 440.22(A).
Several motor compressors. Conductors that supply several motor-compressors must have an ampacity of not less than 125% of the highest-rated motor-compressor current of the group plus the sum of the rated-load currents of the other compressors. Protect these conductors against short circuits and ground faults per 440.22(B)(1).
Room air conditioners. The rules in Part VII of Art. 440 apply to window or in-wall type room air conditioner units that incorporate a hermetic refrigerant motor-compressor rated not more than 40A and 250V (single-phase). These units are common in homes, hotels, and mobile shelters, such as construction trailers. But you'll see them in many other applications as well.
When calculating branch-circuit requirements, you can consider a room air conditioner to be a single motor unit only if the installation meets the four conditions listed in 440.62(A). You must make three branch-circuit determinations:
Conductor and protection size. Branch-circuit conductors for a cord-and-plug–connected room air conditioner rated not more than 40A at 250V must have an ampacity of not less than 125% of the rated-load currents [440.32].
Maximum load on circuit. Where the room air conditioner is the only load on a circuit, the marked rating of the air-conditioner can't exceed 80% of the rating of the circuit [210.23(A)].
Other loads on circuit. The total rating of a cord-and-attachment-plug-connected room air conditioner can't exceed 50% of the rating of a branch-circuit where lighting outlets, other appliances, or general-use receptacles are also supplied [210.23(B)].
The supply cord for room air conditioning equipment can't be longer than 10 ft for 120V units or 6 ft for equipment rated 208 through 240V (440.64). An attachment plug and receptacle can serve as the disconnecting means for a room air conditioner, provided:
- The manual controls on the room air conditioner are readily accessible and within 6 ft of the floor, or
- An approved manually operable switch is in a readily accessible location within sight of the room air conditioner.
Unless you have special certification, your work on refrigerant systems doesn't include breaking refrigerant seals or working with the refrigerant itself. But it does include properly applying the requirements of Art. 440 to protect circuits and ensure reliable operation of the equipment. Whether you're helping keep beverages cold at your local convenience store or keeping tissue alive at a medical clinic, your knowledge of Art. 440 will keep your customer from losing its cool.


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The Santa Monica Mountains are a traverse mountain range that stretches from the Pacific Ocean 64 kilometers east to the flood plain where the LA River is fed by the Verdugo Wash. The southern side of the eastern end of the range is almost always referred to as the Hollywood Hills. The central portion lies within LA's westside and the foothills are home to some of LA's most affluent neighborhoods (e.g. Bel Air, Beverly Hills and Pacific Palisades). To the north, separated by the mountains, is the San Fernando Valley. Technically, the Channel Islands are also part of the range, although they're separated from the mainland by water.
Pendersleigh & Sons' Official Map of the Santa Monica Mountains
The western portion of the Santa Monica Mountains separates the Conejo Valley from Malibu and the neighboring communities that make up the Los Angeles district known as the Santa Monica Mountains area. The district borders Ventura County to the west and north, the San Fernando Valley to the northeast and the Westside to the east.


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Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose Welcome Baby Boy
(NEW YORK) -- It's a boy for Wiz Khalifa and Amber Rose!
The rapper and his fiance welcomed their first child, Sebastian 'The Bash' Taylor Thomaz, into the world Thursday.
"Happy Birthday Sebastian 'The Bash' Taylor Thomaz!!! Everyone welcome this perfect young man into the world," the rapper tweeted.
"Happy Birthday to our baby boy Sebastian "The Bash" Taylor Thomaz! I'm so happy u guys I fell in love all over again! :-)" the model tweeted.
It appears Khalifa is off to a good start as a father. Rose tweeted a photo of the rapper holding their little boy with the caption, "Best daddy ever…. Up with the baby so Muva [Rose's nickname] can go back to sleep :-)."
Rihanna and Snoop Dogg both tweeted their congratulations to the happy parents.
"Congratulations to my fam @mistercap and @muvarosebud !!! Welcome baby Bash! You're born in an exquisite month #babypisces," she tweeted with a photo of her and Rose.
"Welcome 2 fatherhood mistercap!!! Congrats 2 u n @darealamberrose on ur new son," Snoop Dogg tweeted.
In an interview with E! News in December, Khalifa said he's not making any changes to his marijuana use despite their baby boy.
"I think it's all about how you're raised with it," the rapper said. "Before, there was a much more negative outtake on it. You know, pot and what it can do, and the effects of it.
"Of course I'm not going to be smoking right there over the baby, because smoke in general and being high is not good for a kid. None of that," he said. "But definitely he's going to know what it is — and he'll know the difference between being a child and not being able to use it and being an adult and knowing how to use it."
Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio


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The PlayStation Portable, or PSP, is a handheld games console made by Sony under the PlayStation brand. It was launched in Japan on December 12, 2004, and debuted in North America on March 24, 2005. The computing power of the PSP is comparable to that between the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2, being capable of rendering significantly complex 3D graphics to a less detailed extent than the PS2. The console is also capable of supporting network play.
The PSP is the native platform for two Grand Theft Auto games, Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, which both recycled settings in two PS2-native games but are able to retain many features of its more higher-spec counterparts at the expense of lower texture quality and resolution. In addition, both games manage to take advantage of the PSP's network support to include multiplayer modes, a feature which is absent in the PS2 port. Both GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories have been huge successes in terms of the number of sales in comparison to other PSP games.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has also been ported to the system in late 2009.
In 2014, the last versions of PSP (except the latest PSP 10,000 and PS Vita) were discontinued.
Grand Theft Auto games for the PSP
- Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005)
- Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)


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"Our nation is greatly indebted to our teachers. I firmly believe that
we wouldn't be a free people without our teaching profession."
- Secretary of Education Rod Paige
Under the 1998 reauthorization of Title II of the Higher Education Act (HEA), the U.S. secretary of education is required to issue annual reports to Congress on the state of teacher quality and teacher preparation nationwide. This report is the third annual report on teacher quality and outlines the progress that occurred in the past year and the challenges that lie ahead.
Chapter 1, "The Highly Qualified Teachers Challenge Revisited," provides an overview of the highly qualified teachers challenge, placing the findings of this report within the context of research and policy. It provides an overview of the highly qualified teacher requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and highlights new opportunities for states to demonstrate leadership through recently enacted flexibility provisions.
Chapter 2, "Toward a Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom: Partnership in Action," details the significant activities the Department of Education and other organizations have undertaken over the last year to support the raising of academic standards for teachers, while at the same time reducing unnecessary barriers to teaching.
Chapter 3, "Update on State Teacher Quality Improvement Activities," provides a snapshot of state progress along a number of dimensions of the teacher quality challenge, as revealed by the HEA Title II data collection and reporting system for states and institutions of higher education.
Chapter 4, "Building Momentum" concludes the report with a description of forthcoming teacher quality-related initiatives at the Department designed to assist states in meeting the NCLB requirement that all teachers of core academic subjects are highly qualified.