text:
One of the keys to preventing dehydration is drinking plenty of fluids, including water. This is especially important as the temperature and humidity rise in the summer months. While water is almost always the best drink choice, a lot of people complain that they get bored drinking plain water. While you can add purchased flavored drink mixes to water, you can also make your own flavored water by infusing it with different fruits and herbs.
Infusing water with a little flavor is really simple. Fill a pitcher with water, add thinly sliced fruits, herbs or spices, and chill in the refrigerator. You also can add sliced fresh fruit to a reusable water bottle. The combinations are endless. Some fruits work better than others. Berries tend to break down faster than hardier citrus fruits like lemons or limes. For stronger flavored water, prepare it a day ahead and keep it in the fridge overnight before drinking.
A great benefit of infusing water with fresh fruits, herbs, and spices is that you can get some added nutritional benefit. Lemons, lime, oranges, grapefruit and berries all are excellent sources of vitamin C. Fresh ginger and fresh mint are both refreshing flavorings as well as being good for upset stomachs.
Making your own flavored water is also a good way to avoid the unnecessary added sugars, preservatives or chemicals that often are added to drink mixes or commercially available flavored waters. Eager to get started? Check out the simple infused water recipes below!
Cucumber Infused Water
What you will need:
- 1 cucumber
- A strainer or cheese cloth
- Water and ice
For a slightly flavored infused cucumber water, cut a cucumber up into small slices or chunks, add it to your water and cover and let sit in the fridge overnight. Strain the mixture before drinking.
For a more flavorful cucumber infused water, blend the cucumber and pour it into a strainer and let drip overnight. In the morning, mix the cucumber juice with a pitcher of water.
Grapefruit, Orange, and Lime Infused Water
What you will need:
- 1/2 a grapefruit thinly sliced
- 1 Orange thinly sliced
- 1/2 a lime thinly sliced
- A few mint sprigs (optional)
- Water and Ice (1 quart)
Chill for a stronger flavor or serve right away for a nice light refreshment
Pineapple, Ginger and Mint Infused Water
- Pineapple slices (6-10)
- Thinly sliced ginger (5 slices)
- Mint leaves (14)
- Ice and water (1 quart)
Chill for a stronger flavor or serve right away for a nice light refreshment
Fruit Infused Iced Tea
What you will need:
- Fruit flavored herbal tea such as Celestial Seasonings Red or Lemon Zinger or Tazo Passion
- Cubed Pineapple
- Sliced Tangerines
Some infused water recipes sourced from: http://www.infusedwaterrecipes.com/
Tags: cucumber water, cucumber water recipe, cucumber water recipes, fruit infused water, fruit infused water recipes, fruit water recipes, how to make infused water, infused water, infused water recipes, mint water


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Developing a Simple Backup Strategy
Managing Backups
The importance of good backups can never be overstated. Most businesses live or die by the data that they have created. A major priority of every administrator should be a excellent system for consistent backups. This system must be automated and all of those responsible have to be trained in backup verification and restoration.
Backup Media
There are a number of options for performing backups.
One popular media for backups are CD or DVDs whether they are RW or just R. This media uses a laser with a photochemical process to write the data. The shelf life is typically longer than magnetic however there are a number of variables which change the lifetime. CD and DVD are typically cheap around $.15 for CDs and $.25 for DVDs. If you choose this media for backup it is important that you use the best media you can afford. Cheap media is not dependable and does not have the lifetime of high quality media. Mark your media with water soluble markers as permanent markers will have a tendency to damage the media. The media should be stored between 42-68 degrees F with 30-50% humidity for longest life. The biggest drawback to using this media is the limit in space.
The advantages of USB are that it is easy to setup. USB media is limited by the number of writes that can be performed to the media so a time span for all USB media should be established. The two biggest drawbacks to USB are speed and limited drive size.
USB Connection with Hard Drives
Now it is possible to purchase RAID arrays set up in an external device. These provide an east excellent backup. Plug them in and develop your strategy.
Tape Drives
Tape drives have been an important source for backups for years. However, because of the higher cost for tapes, management of tapes and the lifespan of tapes, tape drives are not as popular as they once were.
Hard Drives
The fastest, most inexpensive and very reliable are hard drive backups. These are the easiest to manage and can be automated for long periods of time.
Because hard drives are the most readily available media for backups this section will cover backing up to hard drives only.
Using tar
The tar program is on all Linux systems and provides a way to create a backup of a directory quickly. The format for tar is:
tar options destination source
It is easy to get the destination and source confused so double check it. If the user mary wanted to back up her home directory to a backup partition called /bk this would be the command:
tar cvf /bk/mary_bk.tar /home/mary
Notice the options are:
c create an archive
v verbose and list all the activity
f place the archive in a file
Now if there was a system crash and mary needed to retrieve that tar file and expand it here is the command to do that:
tar xvf /bk/mary_bk.tar -C /
The options are:
x extract the files
v verbose
f read from the file
Notice that if mary lost her directory the whole thing could be restored by indicating where to restore it and that is why the / is important because it would recreate /home/mary from the / directory.
Example Situation:
In the home directory for mike there is a Data folder which contains important information. /home/mike/Data The user mike (not root) moves into the /home/mike directory and does:
tar cvf Data.tar /home/mike/Data.
The Data directory is removed so it looks like this now:
There is no Data directory. Now mike from the location of /home/mike does:
tar xvf Data.tar
However, no Data file is created.
But…when mike does:
tar xvf Data.tar -C /
The directory Data and contents are now restored.
-C, –directory DIR change to directory DIR
So in this example you are changing to the / directory before expanding the tar file.
Search the Contents of a tar File
If you need to find a file to backup and it may be located in a tar file you can use grep to locate it.
tar -tvf mytarfile.tar | grep myfile
Simple tar Script
This script will backup the /home directory and create a tar file with a timestamp. This will give you the ability to backup as often as needed. With the low cost of hard drives this could be a usable option.
# Timestamped Back Up
TIMESTAMP=`date +%Y%m%d_%H%M%S`;
echo $TIMESTAMP
tar cvf /bk/home_$TIMESTAMP.tar /home

subset: commoncrawl


text:
English Kindergarten Read Alouds - Literature (Set of 50)
by Hexagramm Books
$ 750.00
We offer two genres of Read Aloud Bundles: Literature and Informational
Literature:åÊThis selection includes authentic and translated literature appropriate for theåÊgrade-level you select. Books come with colorful book bins for easy storage.
Informational:åÊThis selection will match your grade-level social studies, science and math themes.åÊBooks come with colorful book bins for easy storage.*Number of books included in each bundleåÊdepends on genre. Prices vary.


text:
Feminized cannabis seeds are awesome for if you want to take the gambling out of growing your own pot. The particular feminized cannabis strain I've selected is this new one from Nirvana Shop, Kaya.
Kaya is a great weed plant for if you don't want a whole lot of hassle, or if you're new to indoor growing. That being said, Kaya makes a good outdoor plant as well. As the guys at Nirvana Shop say, this is a good one for just leaving out in the woods and coming back for it 9 months later.
Kaya has a strong earthy smell, and a very well rounded cannabis strain. This weed plant produces quite a big bud with dark orange hairs. But the best part about Kaya is how hardy this strain is. It can handle a few bugs and is also less sensitive to changes in its environment than most other cannabis sativa varieties.
If this is your first time trying to grow your own pot, I would definitely recommend picking up 5 or 10 seeds of a plant like Kaya. The fact that these seeds are feminized means that you won't have to throw a few away when they turn out to be males. Every Kaya seed is guaranteed to germinate and produce night fat weed buds.
At Nirvana Shop you can get hold of 5 or 10 feminized Khaya seeds. If you're planting outdoors in the woods I'd suggest getting 10 seeds. If you have a really small grow room maybe only get 5, cos these ladies can get pretty big!


text:
1. picayune - adjective
· (informal) small and of little importance; "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"
Synonym(s): fiddling, footling, lilliputian, little, niggling, piddling, piffling, petty, trivial
The only site you need for word puzzles, home work, anagrams and scrabble games. The best site for two word anagram solutions.
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Unscramble.net is the free tool to unscramble letters and words for games like Text Twist, Words with Friends, Scrabble, Word Scraper, and of course the ever popular Jumble newspaper puzzle. It is also great for homework problems that frustrate many parents and students. Unscramble.net provides one and two word unscramble solutions from its extensive 280,000 word list that includes technical, medical and slang words. There is no limit to the number of letters entered for one word unscrambles and the site also provides for rhyming words and dictionary definitions for many of the unscrambled words. Two word unscramble results are provided in two formats for easy comprehension by the user. There is no limit to the number of word combinations provided whether for one or two word unscramble solution sets.
The site is mobile friendly and fully https/tls security compliant. Fast and easy, unscramble.net provides the most accurate and complete word, letter and anagram solutions available. Trust the oldest and most reliable unscramble tool on the net. Word lists are constantly being updated from reliable sources. Android and iOS apps are coming soon.


text:
Recall Election Is A Bad Idea
Creating recall elections for state legislators in New York state is a horrible idea.
The idea has been proposed by Republican members of the state Assembly, who say recall elections have been shown to work in 19 other states. States with recall elections have removed more than a dozen state legislators in 36 separate recall elections. Supporters say a recall election for state legislators will give power back to the voters by giving them a way to get rid of corrupt politicians.
New Yorkers already have recall elections for the legislative branch every two years through the general election. There is no shortage of opportunity for the state's voters to show vote out ineffective or corrupt legislators every other year. Recall elections will have little to no effect in curbing corruption among state legislators.
In addition to being ineffective, recent history shines a light on the corrosive effect of recall elections. After his election in 2011, Gov. Scott Walker was the subject of a recall election in 2012 not because he was corrupt or had abused his power. He was the subject of a recall election because organized labor didn't like Walker's efforts to strip public unions of collective bargaining rights. The recall election ground state business to a halt for nearly a year before Walker emerged victorious.
Extend the analogy to New York, where organized labor holds much the same influence. What would stop organized labor from organizing recall votes against legislators who disagree push for cost-saving plans that will help taxpayers while hurting organized labor unions? Are we really to believe that couldn't, or wouldn't, happen in a state dealing with serious issues regarding public payrolls, public pensions and contracts at every level of government? Frankly, will having the threat of recall held over their heads prevent legislators from making tough or unpopular choices?
New York's government has a serious breach of public trust after the latest round of scandal. As the governor's office and legislators fumble around for the magic cure to all that ails New York politics, we say again the solution is simple.
Find more trustworthy candidates.
Accused of trying to bribe his way into the New York City mayor's race, state Sen. Malcolm Smith has been stripped of his leadership posts – but continues to serve in the state Senate.
The state has no legal mechanism to force Smith to resign, and Smith does have 79,500 reasons not to quit.
It's time to create a legal mechanism to force crooked politicians to do what they often times will not do themselves – step aside.
Of course, Smith and others accused of such crimes have a right to defend themselves in front of a jury of their peers and a right to be presumed innocent. Smith and politicians of his ilk have no right to hold on to their taxpayer-funded jobs in the face of such credible charges.
During a stop in Buffalo in early April, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the Smith situation troubling before saying, "We have zero tolerance for any violation of the public integrity and the public trust."
The governor and the state Legislature should make sure zero tolerance actually means zero tolerance by crafting language that forces crooked politicians like Smith to resign, at least temporarily, their elected positions when accused of such odious crimes.


text:
Monday, November 29, 2010
Win a copy of RootsMagic 4!
Exciting news! I cleaned out my genealogy closet!
But wait....there's more!
In said closet, I found two copies of RootsMagic 4 genealogy software that were part of genealogy gift bags I received at conferences. I already have my own copy, so I've decided to give these away to two of my loyal, wonderful blog readers. Think of it as an early holiday present for you!
Here's the deal:
The fairest way I can think of to give everyone an equal chance is a random drawing. Send me an email at [Redacted. Contest over.] with RootsMagic in the subject line. You can enter now through 11:59PM Central Time on Sunday December 5, 2010. Each email will be numbered in the order in which they landed in the email box. On Monday, Dec. 6, I will randomly draw two numbers and announce the winners. These lucky folks will each be sent a FREE copy of RootsMagic 4.
This little event is open to blog readers in the U.S. and Canada only. Sorry, but postage rates make it so.
Anyone who does not already own a copy of RootsMagic 4 is eligible. Owners of earlier editions of RootsMagic are welcome to enter the drawing, as RootsMagic 4 is completely different than what you own.
Genealogy bloggers, feel free to let your readers know about this drawing. It's all about spreading some genealogy love (and cleaning out closets).
Guess that's it. Good luck to everyone!
6 comments:
does it work on macs?ReplyDelete
Kristin, I don't have a Mac, so I can't answer the question from an experience standpoint. I did find this information at the RootsMagic website:ReplyDelete
You are so generous, Amy. Thank you!ReplyDelete
Thanks for the opportunity, Amy!ReplyDelete
What a cool contest Amy! too bad I already have a copy! What else do you have lying around in your genealogy closet?ReplyDelete
Okay! I'm going to try it! :) Thanks for the chance!ReplyDelete
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text:
"THE GAME" - (9:30-10:00 p.m. ET)
"When The Chickens Come Home To Roost Part 2" (TV-14, DL) (HDTV)
DECISIONS, DECISIONS - Melanie (Tia Mowry) and Derwin (Pooch Hall) have a heated argument about their impending engagement status. Meanwhile, Malik (Hosea Chanchez), still conflicted about his relationship with a overweight woman, asks Tasha (Wendy Raquel Robinson) for advice. Kelly (Brittany Daniel) helps Tasha get new clients by using an unusual sales technique. Coby Bell also stars. Salim Akil directed the episode written by Mara Brock Akil & Salim Akil (#40596-022).


text:
Intelligence and the Brain: Recent Advances in Understanding How the Brain Works with Jeff Hawkins
Date: 12/3/2012; 59 minutes
How the brain creates intelligence is viewed by many as the greatest scientific quest of all time. We are living at the time when rapid progress is being made and a comprehensive theory of brain function is emerging. Jeff Hawkins, an inventor, engineer, neuroscientist, author and entrepreneur, presents the big picture of what we know so far and describes recent progress in a core issue: why neurons are arranged as they are in the neocortex, how this arrangement builds models of the world, and how these models make predictions and generate actions. (#24411)
related programs


text:
Titan's suit against the British tube sites is a welcome event in the online gay porn world. GayForIt.com (itsallgay.com, jerkofftube.com) et al are a fraud.
Titan will be successful because gayforit has a financial interest in the streaming of the content. It is selling access to that content on a subscription basis. It leases/controls the servers @ LeaseWeb, and it is making editorial decisions at minimum about some of its content. It is a financial model built on pirated content plain and simple.


text:
Auditory competence in early life: the roots of communicative behavior
University Park Press, 1976 - Psychology - 314 pages
From inside the book
74 pages matching effects in this book
Page 313
Where's the rest of this book?
Results 1-3 of 74
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
Determinants of Communicative Behavior
Methods for Studying A uditory Behavior
Functional Properties of Sound and Their Ontogenetic
6 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
acoustic activity adult arousal associated audiometry auditory behavior auditory processing auditory stimulation auditory system Band noise basal Bioacoustic Laboratory brain brain stem cardiac cardiotachometer changes Child Develop Clicks clinical cochlear cochlear nucleus complex constant signals correlates cortex developmental dichotic dichotic listening differences differential discrimination dishabituation duration effects Eisenberg electrode electroencephalographic evoked potential evoked responses Exper Figure frequency habituation Hearing Res heart rate Hutt inferior colliculus intervals Lipton measures mechanisms motor msec neonate nervous system neurons Neurophysiol newborn infants noisemakers observations organization output Physiol physiologic potential presented Psychol pure tones reflex Resp response patterns response ratio responses to sound reticular formation sensory sleep specific Speech & Hearing speech perception speech sounds speechlike Steinschneider stim stimulus onset stimulus-bound strip chart subjects sucking synthetic speech tape tion tonal trials variables visual vocal vowel wave woice York
References to this book
Acoustic Communication, Volume 1
Barry Truax
Limited preview - 2001
All Book Search results »
The Origins and Growth of Communication
Lynne Vernon-Feagans
Snippet view - 1984


text:
Nadine Helstroffer doesn't have any movies playing in theaters.
If you feel like heading out, check out other movies in theaters.
Vajra Sky Over Tibet
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Movies.com, the ultimate source for everything movies, is your destination for new movie trailers, reviews, photos, times, tickets + more! Stay in the know with the latest movie news and cast interviews at Movies.com.
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text:
If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...
- West Virginia's Biggest Telco Says Broadband Business 'Unsustainable'
- Google's Dead Wrong If It Thinks Broadband Caps Won't Hurt Game Streaming
- Amazon Jumps Into The Satellite Broadband Game
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- None Of The Claimed Benefits Of Killing Net Neutrality Ever Arrived
Reader Comments
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Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 6:37pmThat's just crazy. Next they will be declaring "legal rights" for receiving more than ten telephone calls over the course of a day. Remember kids: Nine is just fine!
Brian (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 6:42pmAnd by the time Finland has their 100Mbit internet the US will have 0Mbit internet since everyone will have been accused of file sharing and either been kicked off the internet or fined until they are homeless.
misterdoug (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 7:13pmIt's amazing how many Americans think of Europe as the "old world" and the rest as the "third world." In many forums the mere mention of another country being ahead of the USA in any way will be viciously attacked as misguided liberal propaganda, eliciting frothing rants about socialism and freedom.
Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 7:19pm
Re:Liberal, conservative, it's all stupid. The truth is that no matter where a good idea comes from it should be investigated.
John Doe, 15 Oct 2009 @ 4:09am
Re:You are so right. Europeans would never be that snobbish.
jerryjvl, 14 Oct 2009 @ 7:21pm
Legal right...> While I'm not sure it makes sense to define broadband as a legal right
My guess would be that declaring internet access to be a legal right would be the first step towards moving access and interaction with the government exclusively online; whether this is intended to enable a government cost-cutting measure across the board, or perhaps as a means to enable more meaningful input into the governmental process is anyone's guess.
Chris (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 7:29pmI believe the UK is also aiming to have broadband (2MB) available to every household in the UK by 2012, however I forget the exact details. I'm sure your standard rates will still apply, and you've also got to consider that the laying of all cables etc will come straight out of your taxes, and all the profits will be made by the ISPs.
Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 7:33pmFinland — Population: 5,244,749
End discussion. sort of like saying broadband is a right in a small neighborhood in Tokyo.
Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 8:03pm
Re:So what? It's a country meeting the needs of citizens.
Are you saying that Piss Poor America is too whiny? Listen man, your head is so far up your ass that you have to open your mouth to see if the sun is rising or setting.
Oh, 5M people. Blah blah. Did you know Karl Rove recently said it's "only 5M people who don't have health insurance".
http://vodpod.com/watch/2141232-karl-rove-really-only-5-million-without-health-insura nce
Oh Poor Finland. It's such a sad story with their polar bears, and solo violins playing in the background, that they had to get internet for everyone.
Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 8:16pm
Re:Compare broadband in Tokyo with that in, I don't know, say, New York? I am pretty sure one is significantly better than the other. Oh, but New York has a few more people than Tokyo. Got it. How could I be so stupid.
Brian, 14 Oct 2009 @ 9:58pm
Re: Re:"Oh, but New York has a few more people than Tokyo. Got it. "
Guessing you were being sarcastic? Tokyo's population, about 12.8 million. NY's, about 8.4 million.
Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 8:34pm
Re:End discussion. sort of like saying broadband is a right in a small neighborhood in Tokyo.
Sort of like saying even a small neighborhood in Tokyo can beat the US. A little more meaningful now, isn't it?
Mike Masnick (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 9:51pm
Re:Finland — Population: 5,244,749
Silicon Valley -- population ~3 million (depends how you count). And broadband is worse here... despite it being more densely populated than Finland.
End discussion.
Not really.
Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:46pm
Re: Re:It's the same as the small artist/big artist thing. Finland's too small. Tokyo is too big.
If someone doesn't want to admit that the US (in particular the companies handling the broadband offerings) is doing a second tier job, no amount of facts or examples that do work will convince them.
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 12:01am
Re: Re:You're right. I know a few folks in Sunnyvale (Which, oddly is a city that a few small tech companies such as HP, Yahoo, Juniper Networks, Palm, AMD, Lockheed, Honeywell, Northrop Grumman) where it's actually quite commonplace that people can't get a basic DSL line, but the person across the street can.
Personally, I find it quite odd that my parents can get a faster internet connection in their house literally in the middle of nowhere.
"Keep driving until the pavement ends, and it's a dirt road" are the directions I give. Last year, during the holidays, I remember going out on the porch around 10:00 and literally hearing nothing but dead silence, until the neighbor's gas meter kick in. I did some investigation, and found the sound to be emanating a neighbor three houses down. My discovery was truly surreal in it's own rite.
I suppose it all comes down to some internal build-out prioritization process, or internal political challenges.
But Sunnyvale.. Redmond? (oops, I didn't mean to let that last one slip.) Man. You make me want to call Sol Trujillo and put him in Dennis Strigl or Randall Stephenson's place.
Yakko Warner, 15 Oct 2009 @ 7:56am
Re: Re: Re:Plus Strategic Air Command keeps a dial-up number in Sunnyvale. Login is "Joshua". ;)
DS, 15 Oct 2009 @ 3:43am
Re: Re:"And broadband is worse here... despite it being more densely populated than Finland."
And it's my responsibility to fix it for you?
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 4:12am
Re: Re: Re:>> And it's my responsibility to fix it for you?
It's probably not your own "personal" responsibility, but it's quite possible that AT&T does a horrible, horrible job at anything it says it does, unless it gets a fat check from the Government to spy on people. Then everything is funded and seems to work just fine.
Being the "American Telephone and Telegraph" Company, it often seems that they're still stuck in the Telegraph age.
Have you heard about the health plans this Blue Chip stock offers it's employees?
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 5:38am
Re: Re:Well, not that it is exact, but wikipedia shows San Jose with 5,758.1/sq mi and Helsinki with 7,040.6/sq mi - and the country of Finland only having 40/sq mi, which again is key in the game, especially if you read the report a little more carefully.
The government is picking up most of the tab for this network, with the telecom companies paying only a very small amount. The national government is paying more than half the bill (and aggressively freeing up radio spectrum), regional and local governments are picking up a fair bit, the telecoms very little in the end.
The freeing up radio spectrum is key in the game here. Wire the dense areas, provide radio coverage to a speed that is much slower than 3G for the rest. Oh yeah, let's not forget no competition, no alternate carriers, no nothing.
You cannot expect the same governmental intervention in the US because of the sheer volumes of near empty space in the US. Moving to put a 1 meg connection into every home in the US is impractical because of the size of the job at hand. Finland has only 3% of the land mass of the US, and for that matter, is 1/3 the size of California. The scale of the project is a little different, no?
Apples, meet oranges, techdirt style.
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 9:02am
Re: Re: Re:You cannot expect the same governmental intervention in the US...
Can't expect the gov't in the US to give the telcos subsidies? What a joke. The gov't in the US has ALREADY given the telco industry HUGE subsidies and stands poised to continue to do so in the future.
Jari Winberg (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:23pm
Re:Finland — Population: 5,244,749
End discussion. sort of like saying broadband is a right in a small neighborhood in Tokyo.
It's not that simple. You have to consider population density as well. On average there are 17 people per square kilometer in Finland. In Lapland, northern part of Finland, population density is 2 people per square kilometer. And in some areas it's only 0.2.
Cable is not going to be the solution for many places. Mobile broadband is a big part of the broadband strategy.
Froppy, 15 Oct 2009 @ 5:42am
Re:@Anonymous Coward (7):
Finland is mostly a big forest, with tons of lakes. It is sparsely populated and in a smaller population there is less people who pay the taxes and less people working to provide access.
In short: Your comment is uneducated and "endumbening". :D
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 5:55am
Re: Re:Again, you aren't thinking with your dipstick, Jimmy!
Since it is mostly forest, you put up a couple of big radio towers to offer 1meg service to all the forest areas. Now, eliminating almost all of the area of the country, you are looking at nothing more significant than wiring up a single city and a few smaller towns. This isn't exactly rocket science. Remember, a 1 meg connection is only 1/7th the speed of the current 3g 3.5g world. (suppose to be 7.x meg).
So actually, your comments only help to support my point of view. Finland has very little work to do to become wired.
feeling "endumbed" yet?
-, 15 Oct 2009 @ 9:34am
Re:Population here doesn't make this significant, but the fact that many people live in remote areas and struggling to get a good enough service because operators don't want to invest on those areas. With this law it gives the equal rights to everyone to get the same level of service.
harbingerofdoom (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 7:54pmFinland — Population: 5,244,749
while AC does make a rather valid point, he also completely (and so conveniently) sweeps the entire point that the US should NOT be as far behind in broadband penetration as it currently is. especially when there are locations in rather urbanized areas that still can not get a real broadband connection.
Anonymous Coward, 14 Oct 2009 @ 10:16pmBut the FCC is working hard with the RIAA and MPAA and telcos and cablecos to ensure that everyone gets a decent broadband connection for a decent price :)
Falindraun (profile), 15 Oct 2009 @ 12:35am
Re:Oh I'm sure they are ... trying to figure out a way to prevent music/movies/television/telephone from getting out on the internets (Oops sorry guys too late).
Chargone (profile), 14 Oct 2009 @ 11:44pm
Re: http://www.pretty-tiffany.comjewelry spambots....
better or worse than shoes?
Fin, 15 Oct 2009 @ 2:30amBroadband, free health care, 50% off day care, free education including universities (top rank in PISA assessment, US in bottom), no intelligent design bullshit, 5 weeks vacation/year. Maternity leave (up to 1 year with 90-100% salary). The list goes on and on.
Oh Finland! What a lousy socialist wealth-redistributer country!
Ah, but it's only 5 million so it doesn't count.
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 2:52am
Re:So, can someone work at, Hell, I dunno, the local Anttila Store and still get those types of benefits?
Timö, 15 Oct 2009 @ 3:13am
Re: Re:Yes. You get it all. Including polar bears, but the bears, while a nuisance, come with any job. :-P
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 4:15am
Re:Why don't you move there? Seriously? People complain all the time about where they live and tout how great it is somewhere else. The answer is easy, move.
Why does every country have to be like every other country? It is like joining the girl scouts and then trying to change them into the boy scouts. If you want the boy scouts then join the boy scouts. Why push your will on others?
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 4:40am
Re: Re:Boy, you have a short memory. In the 1990s, a large amount of US taxpayer money was made available to build some sort of "Internet Superhighway" or "broadband network". Remember when Al Gore said he "Created The Internet"? We all laugh about that today, but in reality he was right, because he made major taxpayer moooolah available to companies so they could upgrade from T1 and ISDN lines across the US to more viable things like DS3s and OC48s.
Today, they're needing to be upgraded again, but carriers are dragging their feet, waiting for a Broadband Stimulus or something before they actually spend the money on upgrades.
Its a repeat of the 1990s: "If the Government will pay for it, let's wait and inconvenience customers a few more months and get the gear for free" seems to be the general modis operandi. Meanwhile, carriers still take advantage of the fiber which was layed during the 1990s on the taxpayer's dime, go through multiple mergers, name buildings and sports arenas after their companies and leaders, and still offer a hefty dividend pocket most of the profit.
Great businessplan. Wish I would have seen it coming.
To paraphrase Bush:
Fool me once... You never get fooled again.
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 11:16am
Re: Re: Re:Since you know your history, you'll also remember that there was a dot-com bubble that burst in 2001. You're right that there was a huge push to lay fiber all over the country, but alot of companies went under because they invested tons of their own money to improve the national broadband infrastructure. Can you blame them for being a little gun shy now?
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 10:54am
Re:Why do people continue to propagate the idea that if the government provides a service, it's free? You do realize that that's all paid for with tax dollars right? Someone pays.
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 3:16am
John Doe, 15 Oct 2009 @ 5:55am
There is another important point being missed hereBesides the fact that they are making sure everyone has a broadband connection, they are making it a right. A right would imply something that can't be taken away. Who would take it away you ask? The movie & music industry of course. No 3 strikes laws there.
Allan Masri (profile), 15 Oct 2009 @ 10:59am
USA just can't do it...Comparisons with other countries are futile, except to point out how people somewhere else are solving problems that face all of us. What's your excuse, America? Are you simply channeling GW Bush ("It's so haaard!") The US can do it if we stop whining and listening to idiots trying to convince us we can't. The government is evil and can't do anything well...except when they built the interstate highway system or put a man on the moon. Both those massive outlays of tax money led to tremendous leaps in productivity, subsidies to people and industries that were undreamed of, these industries led to US domination of the world economy. But now? Government shouldn't try to do anything, because short-sighted individuals want their bank accounts to get bigger.
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 12:01pm
Re: USA just can't do it...The US can't do it for a bunch of reasons. Free Market, the misguided political desire to treat everyone equally (even if they choose to live in the middle of buttf--k nowhere) etc.
Much of the government support for infrastructure in telecom has been used to run high speed internet to very low population density areas, where it is all but impossible to get service anyway, because most people are too far from the CO or too far to get cable anyway.
When the chance came to change this at least a bit (with the TV bandwidth coming available), the chance was lost. Wireless communications for these areas would be significantly cheaper than running wires to each of these homes, which is what they appear to be mandating in Finland.
The US misses because the US wants to miss. If you don't like your high speed internet service, why not start your own?
Anonymous Coward, 15 Oct 2009 @ 7:25pm
Re: Re: USA just can't do it...The US can't do it for a bunch of reasons. Free Market, the misguided political desire to treat everyone equally (even if they choose to live in the middle of buttf--k nowhere) etc.
Government granted local and spectral monopolies aren't exactly what I'd call "free market". And in fact, those special privileges that most providers enjoy are pretty much the opposite of treating everyone "equally".
Wireless communications for these areas would be significantly cheaper than running wires to each of these homes, which is what they appear to be mandating in Finland.
Hardly. Equivalent wireless bandwidth costs significantly more than wired.
If you don't like your high speed internet service, why not start your own?
Maybe because violating those gov't granted monopolies I mentioned above could land me in prison and I've heard that it isn't a very nice place. I would invite you to go try out prison on your own though and then let us all know what you think of it.
Emily Wilkes, 15 Oct 2009 @ 7:58pmWhat if you just don't want the internet? It is not entirely necessary, but it would be illegal in Finland not to have access to the internet.
Joe, 16 Oct 2009 @ 5:27am
It isnt freeThe law doesnt provide free internet its just making access to internet at a reasonable price a legal right. The telecom providers will be charging for the service.
Add Your Comment


text:
It has been a looong time!
But since some other things are back to normal, why not reposting here some of the stuff I started posting on my facebook account?
Some time ago I promised I would have posted some ideas about how to create more reusable body types for MOTUC figures and show how to make a good use of them.
Just to explain better how the concept behind a line like MOTUC works, where a bank of tooling is created to work as a basis for figures, makign the line economically doable.
I sketched two new body types.
The first is a squat body.
Instead of creating a new sculpt for Ram-Man that is unique only to him, Rammy could be developed as the first figure using this new Squat Body type.
Eventually other characters could reuse it, and here is an example with General Tataran.
The other body type is the Teen/Slim type.
In the following weeks I'll post examples of figure that could use that too
Since other asked previously: this isn't work done for Mattel or the Four Horsemen, it's just fan art that I do between real toy design jobs for Hasbro.


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--Seven-part Series Kicks-off September 26th with Hour Long Special--
(Los Angeles, CA) -- TLC brings viewers inside the rarely seen world of plural families with the
premiere of SISTER WIVES, an engrossing seven-part series following Kody Brown, his three
-- soon to be four -- wives and their many children. Premiering on Sunday, September 26 at
10 PM (ET/PT), SISTER WIVES explores the complex daily life of a polygamist family.
SISTER WIVES introduces audiences to husband Kody -- along with his three wives; Meri,
Janelle and Christine and their combined 13 children -- showing how they attempt to navigate life
as a "normal" family in a society that shuns their lifestyle. From their unconventional family
structure and living arrangements to financial challenges, each half hour episode exposes the
inner workings of a polygamist household, revealing the unexpectedly tight-knit and loving
relationships between Kody's wives.
SISTER WIVES also captures the intense dynamics surrounding a man juggling three wives
while attempting to keep it a secret from the outside world-- but the general public is not the only
challenge that the Brown family unit is facing. The series begins with Kody announcing plans to
take on another wife and her three kids -- and although expected, the news is met with mixed
feelings. Meri, Janelle and Christine were married before starting families so all of the children
grew up as siblings. And for sixteen years, the SISTER WIVES have established their own role
within the group and worked together to maintain a cohesive, loving unit. Bringing on a fourth
wife could easily disrupt the balance, changing lives forever. The series chronicles the growing
pains as Robyn and her kids assimilate into the family and the sister wives work through the
insecurities and uncertainties that are inevitable to their chosen way of life.
· Meri (first wife): 39-years old, married 20-years and has one daughter named Mariah 14.
· Janelle (second wife): 40-years old, married 17-years and has six children -- Logan, 15;
Madison 14; Hunter, 13; Garrison, 11; Gabriel, 8 and Savanah, 5.
· Christine (third wife): 37-years old, married 16-years and has five children with one on the
way -- Aspyn, 14; Mykelti, 13; Paedon, 11; Gwenelyn, 8; Ysabel, 6 and Truely.
· Robyn: 31-years old, soon to be fourth wife with three children from another husband --
Dayton, 10; Aurora, 7 and Breanna, 5.
SISTER WIVES is produced by Advanced Medical Productions on behalf of TLC. Executive
producers for Advanced Medical Productions are Bill Hayes, Kirk Streb, Chris Poole and Tim
About TLC
TLC's innovative docu-series and reality-based programming include favorites Jon & Kate Plus
8, Little People, Big World, What Not to Wear, 19 Kids and Counting, Say Yes to the Dress, and
LA Ink. TLC added to its menu of programming with Cake Boss and Ultimate Cake Off, and
continues to expand into the food genre. TLC's daytime lineup includes the Emmy Awardwinning
A Baby Story. cptfc The channel is available in more than 99 million homes in the US, nearly
8 million homes in Canada and through the website at www.tlc.com. TLC is part of Discovery
Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK), the world's number one nonfiction
media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries.


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Whether they're pilfering petits fours off the dessert table or twirling themselves silly on the dance floor, these photo ops in party shoes can bring joy and spontaneity to a wedding. Here's our guide to the pros and the cons of inviting the pre-cocktail set.
How to decide. Pros: Kids bring major spunk to your wedding album and swagger to the dance floor. Cons: Their need for constant supervision can make it tough for parents to let loose. Be honest with yourself about your vision for your wedding before saying yea or nay to tiny guests. And once you make a decision, stick with it.
Compromise is possible. There are ways to include kids in the wedding without giving them an all-access pass. One is to invite only your child attendants or close family members. Another is to set across-the-board age restrictions—say 10 and up. But the most diplomatic strategy, says wedding planner Tara Guérard of Soirée, in Charlston, South Carolina, is to include kids in the ceremony and cocktail hour, then ask that they depart before dinner and dancing.
Spread the word. To make your preferences clear, mark your invites with the full name of each guest. If you're not inviting kids, include babysitting information on your save-the-date, and ask close friends and family to pass the word along. Another way to make it explicit: Plainly state on your wedding website that the event is grown-ups only.
Browse adorable flower girl dresses here.
—Sarah Bernard
You Might Also Like:
Chic Wedding Attire for Children


text:
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The related technologies over HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, Git, Subversion, vim, Unix/Linux shell, SQL and NoSQL just to name a few topic that I, as a Perl programmer find useful.
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text: David's Story David had routine exams every year, but during his exam in January 2008, something was different. Several days prior to the exam, he noticed an occasional fluttering of lights in the upper edge of his right eye. He thought nothing of it, and did not even think he needed to see an eye doctor, but it was time for his annual visit. The doctor he saw for that routine exam noted something on the back of his eye and immediately referred him to a retina specialist, who told David he had a melanoma on his retina. David came to Mass. Eye and Ear for a second opinion, and was satisfied with what was used for treatment here. He elected surgery, which involved sewing tantalum rings around the tumor, as markers for proton beam treatments. Two weeks later, as his eye healed some from surgery, David underwent five proton beam treatments. Despite living two hours away, David made all the necessary visits, and his surgery and treatment went well. He no longer sees fluttering lights, and his vision is back to normal. On occasion, he experiences dry eyes, and he finds over the counter eye drops very helpful. Today, David continues to work, drive a car and spend time with his family. Make An Appointment Today! 617-573-3202


text: Rossi (near right, Joe Mantegna) and Hotch (far right, Thomas Gibson) are assisted by local police Detective Gassner (left, guest star Robert Englund) when the BAU head to Oregon to investigate a series of gothic, ritualistic murders of women and suspect that the UnSub they are looking for may be a Satanist, on CRIMINAL MINDS. Series star Matthew Gray Gubler directs the episode. Photo: Monty Brinton/CBS. ©2012 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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text:
Marietta [Operations]
Other Names: Marietta Operations
Battles Associated with the Operations: Brushy Mountain, Gilgal Church, Lost Mountain, Mcaffee's Cross Road, Mud Creek, Neal Dow Station, Noonday Creek, Pine Hill, Pine Mountain, Rottenwood Creek, Ruff's Mill
Location: Cobb County
Campaign: Atlanta Campaign (1864)
Date(s): June 9-July 3, 1864
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman [US]; Gen. Joseph E. Johnston [CS]
Forces Engaged: Military Division of the Mississippi [US]; Army of Tennessee [CS]
Estimated Casualties: Unknown
Description: During the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman maneuvered Johnston's Confederate army out of several successive defensive positions in Cobb County. This strategy spared the Union army from making costly frontal attacks on the well-situated Confederates.
Sherman first found Johnston's army entrenched in the Marietta area on June 9. The Confederate's had established defensive lines along Brushy, Pine, and Lost Mountains. Sherman extended his forces beyond the Confederate lines, causing a partial Rebel withdrawal to another line of positions. After further pressure and skirmishing from Union forces, Johnston withdrew to an arc-shaped position centered on Kennesaw Mountain on June 18 and 19. Sherman made some unsuccessful attacks on this position but eventually extended the line on his right and forced Johnston to withdrawal from the Marietta area on July 2-3.
Result(s): Union victory
CWSAC Reference #: GA013
Preservation Priority: IV.1 (Class B)
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text:
New Zealand - Aotearoa - The land of the long white cloud
New Zealand, one of the most isolated countries, is also one of the great tourist destinations of the world.
New Zealand, one of the most isolated countries, is also one of the great tourist destinations of the world. Within its small compass it has an amazing range of scenery, a complete portfolio of every sport that you can think of, a number of sophisticated cities, superb skiing and surfing and some excellent wines.
Many potential visitors have a distorted impression about where and what New Zealand is. Therefore, for the record, New Zealand lies in the southwest Pacific and has two large islands (North Island and the South Island), plus one smaller island, and numerous much smaller islands. Some think that New Zealand is an island just offshore of Australia. That is not the case. New Zealand is the same distance from Australia as London is from Moscow. And New Zealand is as close to the equator as Buenos Aires in South America.
New Zealand is a long narrow country, oriented very roughly north to south and with mountain ranges running for most of its length. It is a bit bigger than Great Britain, slightly smaller than Italy and the same size as Colorado. It offers the tourist as complete a range of scenic delights as you will find anywhere in the world.
North Island
The distance between the very north of the North Island and the southern tip of the South Island is 1 600 km. Within this range there is a tremendous geographical and geological variety. In the subtropical North there are areas of thermal activity that create bubbling pools and mist-enshrouded forests and lakes. The North Island's main mountains are all dormant volcanoes: Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro in the centre, and Taranaki to the west.
We entered New Zealand via Auckland - modern, cosmopolitan, moving at a city beat, where the inhabitants are utterly obsessed with sailing. At the weekend it is a nautical traffic jam. This is a city of great restaurants, great parks, a swinging night life, within easy driving distance of much of the North Island.
Some of the suburbs of Auckland have distinct and very charming characteristics. Devonport, across the bridge in North Auckland, has a magic charm of its own. It is easy to explore at a gentle walk, and there are restaurants galore, all of which seem to have a wonderful view of the city of Auckland.
There is nothing more pleasant than driving out to Henderson or nearby Kumeu, visiting a vineyard and perhaps eating in a restaurant on the wine farm.
Harbour Bridge with Auckland
in the background
New Zealand not only takes care of its national natural heritage on land, but has the same attitude to the sea around its coastline. A drive north of Auckland will bring you to Russell and Cape Reinga, better known as Northland.
If you travel the Ninety Mile Beach to Cape Reinga, you will drive on the beach either going or coming back, depending on the state of the tide. It is one of the great journeys: the never-ending beach running ahead and the sea pounding in towards you, with a desert of sand dunes on the other side.
Russell, in the Bay of the Islands, is a short car-ferry ride from Paihia, and is one of the most interesting and elegant towns in the country. It is difficult to believe that Russell was once called the hell-hole of the Pacific, a place where the swearing sailors and whalers came ashore to get very drunk. Today it is a favourite weekend breakaway destination for many Aucklanders.
Only 90 minutes' drive from Auckland lies the Coromandel Peninsula. In a sense it is a relief valve for Auckland, for it is clean, green and undeveloped. It is also a haven for people who live by art and craft.
The interior of the peninsula consists of a ridge crisscrossed with roads, some of them unpaved. The peninsula has no major town. Its centres are Thames, Coromandel and Whitianga, but these are small towns - little more than villages - which cater for the surrounding area, rather than for visitors.
Coromandel is near enough to Auckland to make it a day's drive, although it deserves much more. This must rank as one of the great driving experiences of New Zealand and reason enough on its own for a visit to the Peninsula.
The city of Rotorua is the main centre for tourist wishing to experience the culture and influences of the Maori-people. Rotorua itself is a smallish town. The triangle formed by Rotorua, Whakatane and Tauranga encloses one of the world's most active areas of geo thermal activity, as well as large tracts of forest, including the Kaimai-Mamaku Forest Park and the largest tree plantation in the world at the Kaingaroa Forest. As if that is not enough, the nearby Bay of Plenty coast has an amazing range of beaches, and dolphins that will come and swim with you.
The key to the city's attraction is that it is set on a volcanic plateau right in the heart of the North Island's thermal belt. The result is that around Rotorua there are extraordinary geysers and hot springs, boiling and bubbling pools, and general thermal activity. One of the great delights of a visit to Rotorua is a cruise on the lake. Hundreds of the famous black swans escort you on your sundowner cruise.
The area known as Waitomo (south of Hamilton and west of Rotorua) consists of a 45 km network of underground limestone caves and grottoes linked to the Waitomo River. Apart from touring the Glowworm and Aranui caves, famous for their glowworm grottoes and fantastic limestone formations, you can enjoy a range of cave-based adventure activities, including abseiling into a limestone shaft and cave system, and black-water rafting, an adventure sport unique to New Zealand.
A walk through the three levels of the cave - the Banquet Chamber, Pipe Organ and Cathedral - is capped by a tranquil boat ride through the magical Glowworm Grotto.
Mount Taranaki (Egmont) is one of the most beautiful mountains in the world. Certainly it is the most perfectly formed mountain in New Zealand.
South of Rotorua lies the Haku Falls and Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. It was created by volcanic activity, but the lake is now fed by a series of rivers, of which the largest is the Tongariro. Amazing fishing is still available, either on the lake itself or in the many small streams that run into the lake. Anglers require a Taupo trout fishing licence, purchased for a day, week, month or season. Trout hatcheries are found throughout New Zealand because, while many of the lakes and rivers have plenty of food, many lack adequate spawning grounds.
At the southern end of Lake Taupo lies the magnificent Tongariro National Park. Three active volcanic mountains form its nucleus: Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro. The park, which is surrounded by access roads, serves as a winter playground for skiers and snowboarders and a year-round wilderness walking, tramping and mountain climbing area. The park was the first in the world to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status for both its natural and cultural value.
Hawkes Bay is one of the most attractive regions on the North Island and is greatly appreciated by wine lovers and lovers of art deco architecture. The twin cities of Hastings and Napier were flattened by a massive earthquake in 1931, but were rebuilt in a better and more elegant style. During rebuilding, an earthquake-proof building code was enforced and architects adopted the then fashionable Art Deco style. Today, the city's Art Deco buildings, with their pastel colours, bold lines and elaborate motifs, are internationally renowned.
There are many vineyards within easy reach of Hastings and Napier, mainly dotted around the southern end of the Ngaruroro river valley. The success of the region's wine is not only evident in its international awards, but in one of New Zealand's most important wine events, the annual Harvest Hawke's Bay, celebrated during the first weekend of February.
Early morning balloon flights are an unforgettable experience. One meets just outside Hastings and after assisting with the balloon's inflation, you can enjoy an hour of tranquility over the winelands of this region. A picnic and capping with a certificate, round off a memory to take home.
A 5 hour long afternoon train journey between Hastings and Wellington takes you throughy the sheep country of the southern region of the North Island.
Harbour-fringed Wellington, the country's capital, is situated on the southern tip of North Island, and the centre of government, business and the performing arts. The area between Lambton Harbour and Clyde Quay Wharf on Wellington's harbourfront, stands entirely on reclaimed land. It covers a site once central to Wellington's waterfront industry, and can be covered on foot within an hour.
With exhibition space equivalent to three football fields, the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa ("Our Place") is one of the largest national museums in the world. Committed to telling the stories of all cultures in New Zealand, home to the national Art Collection, and with ample gallery space for touring exhibitions, the museum opened on its waterfront site in 1998.
From Wellington you can cross over to the southern island, where you will find just as many exceptional attractions, like the mountains and glaciers of the most southern regions. Yes, New Zealand, or Aotearoa, as it is called by Maori, the "Land of the Long White Cloud", is surely a country that must be high on the list of tourists seeking a memorable experience.
- Johann BEUKES
View New Zealand Country Gallery


text:
When we pray for peace, we pray for peace for everyone," said the Rev. Yoel Salvaterra, who serves the Catholic community in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba, after a morning in which more than 20 rockets fired from the Gaza Strip landed in the city. "Our prayers have no borders. We know we are suffering here and they are suffering there. It is just suffering."
The parish celebrated Mass on Nov. 18 in the church bomb shelter, Father Salvaterra said, and only 15 people came to pray, about half the normal number. The community has about 150 members. "People live in fear," he said. "Everybody is staying home."
In Gaza, George Antone, 31, project manager for the Pontifical Mission for Palestine and father of a 6-month-old daughter, said that residents remained inside their homes because it was too risky to leave. No one knew where Israeli bombs might land next, he said.
"It can be anywhere, between houses, in government institutions, schools, universities, a football field," he said. "The situation here is terrible. Last night it was as if we were living in hell. Every 15 minutes you could hear an explosion."
On Nov. 19 Sami El-Yousef, regional director for the Catholic Near East Welfare Association's office in Jerusalem, reported widespread destruction in Gaza and said almost all Christian institutions had sustained some damage. He said children and the elderly were paying the heaviest price.
Pope Benedict XVI condemned the escalating hostilities on Nov. 21 and called for greater efforts to promote a truce and peace negotiations. "Hatred and violence are not the solution to problems," he said. That morning a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas was finally reached. The pope called on leaders on both sides to make "courageous decisions in favor of peace and put an end to a conflict that has negative repercussions throughout the entire Middle East region, which is already troubled by too many conflicts and is in need of peace and reconciliation." During Israel's aerial offensive over the Gaza Strip to neutralize rocket attacks, 169 Palestinians and at least six Israelis were killed.
One member of Antone's Holy Family Parish in Gaza died of a heart attack during a bombing. "I don't like the killing on either side," he said. "I respect life.
"This is not the way in which we can find a solution. Peace never comes with blood. That is what we say to the people in church. This will lead to nothing—only a very bad scenario on both sides—and the people will pay the price."
"Unless both sides are willing to take difficult decisions," the stand-off will continue like this, El-Yousef said. "The cycle [of violence] gets worse and worse. This is going nowhere and just creating more hatred." He said he hopes that new leaders in the Middle East will play a positive role in calming things down so that a lasting solution can be found. "What we have now is conflict management rather than resolution," he said.
Antone sees the conflict between Hamas and the Israelis as not only political but also stemming from religious fanaticism on the part of both Muslims and Jews. "We Christians are not political; we call for peace and to save lives," Antone said. After the truce, "they have to start negotiating for peace. That is the only way to solve the problem. They have to sit and speak and find a way where there will be no war for our children and the coming generations."
Another Catholic Gazan, who asked not to be identified, said he and his family had not left their home for almost a week. "The explosions are terrible for us," he said.
Though some people may disagree with Hamas's tactics, "nobody can say anything against Hamas," he said. "They are in control."


text:
Monday, April 1
Good morning, TexMessagers! Do you think the word 'climate' should have been omitted? No joke.
Sen. Ted Cruz strikes again! This time, he asked for wording in a routine Senate resolution to be nixed because of one objectionable word: Climate.
The resolution commemorating International Women's Day last month, had to be taken back and edited after Cruz took issue with climate in the phrase that, women in developing countries "are disproportionately affected by changes in climate because of their need to secure water, food and fuel for their livelihood," according to New York Times columnist Gail Collins. Collins said the resolution was nearly identical to the previous year's resolution.
A Cruz spokesman told the Times the freshman senator felt there was no need to mix a hot-button issue in an otherwise perfectly normal resolution.
"A provision expressing the Senate's views on such a controversial topic as 'climate change' has no place in a supposedly noncontroversial resolution requiring consent of all 100 U.S. senators," they said.
This isn't the first time Cruz has made a fuss about a typically noncontroversial vote. Cruz voted against a Senate resolution supporting Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week, citing a need for more time to fiddle with the language.
Headlines from TxPotomac's top articles
★ Ted Cruz v PolitiFact: Whose pants are on fire?
★ Rep. McCaul raises questions on easy global entry for air travelers from Saudi Arabia
★ Poe: U.S. showing 'muscle' to North Korea following bomber exercise
★ Jay Leno imagines Rick Perry discussing gay marriage in presidential debate
★ Cornyn condemns anti-Hispanic slur by Alaska Republican congressman
★ 'Shame on Don Young' Rep. Reuben Hinojosa says after GOP colleague's anti-Latino slur
★ Anti-Hispanic slur unites Beohner, Castro in disgust; Democratic campaign committee tries to capitalize
Reader Comment of the Day
In response to our post, Anti-Hispanic slur unites Beohner, Castro in disgust; Democratic campaign committee tries to capitalize, esquireXII wrote in the comments forum,
"Majority Leader Boehner states that he is against same sex marriage because that is the way he was raised. I heard Congressman Young say the same thing about the slur. I think it is time that people stopped using the excuse of that is how I was raised. As an adult you have a choice. So just be honest and say that is what I believe as an adult with the ability to have discernment and free will."
★ American University will hold an event titled "Mexico's Future: In Search of a New Democratic Equilibrium." at 6 p.m.
★ Brookings Institution will hold a panel discussion titled "Negotiating with Iran: How Best to Reach Success" at 10 a.m.
★ Economic Indicator: Federal Reserve System will release selected data on weekly interest rates at 2:30 p.m.
★ Census Bureau will release data on consturction spending at 10 a.m.
Tomorrow and beyond:
★ April 5 The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases monthly employment information.
★ April 9 The Senate Energy and Commerce Committee has a hearing on the nomination for the Department of Energy.
★ April 15 The Senate Judiciary Committee has a hearing on the targeted killing by drones
★ April 16 The Senate Armed Services Committee has a hearing on Afghanistan
★ April 16 Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing on the proposed fiscal 2014 budget request for the U.S. Coast Guard and related marine transportation programs.
Today in Texas History
On this date in 1923, Texas Gov. Thomas Mitchell Campbell died in Galveston. More>>>


text:
April 26, 2010
By Paul Feinberg
Residing at the intersection of theory and practice, one of UCLA Anderson's newest courses - The CMO Experience: Strategic Brand Management - seamlessly merges academic research with real-world experience, offering students the opportunity to explore branding best practices while understanding the underlying theories. Taught jointly by Sanjay Sood, associate professor of marketing at UCLA Anderson, and Jim Stengel, formerly the global marketing officer of Procter & Gamble and currently an adjunct professor of marketing at Anderson, the course bills itself as a "living lab," one that takes students on "the entire journey of a brand."
The course complements the traditional lecture/case approach and takes the show on the road through a series of field trips. Students visit Rodeo Drive (to examine how brand strategy gets activated in retail), Target offices (to examine how brand portfolios are managed within a brand) and advertising giant TBWA (to examine how brands are built, managed and maintained over the long haul). On campus, students engage with a series of guest speakers who join class discussions, including Alex Tosolini, vice-president of Procter & Gamble; Mike Allen, managing partner of 180LA; Monique Bonner, director of global branding for Dell; David Lubars, chief creative officer at BBDO; and David Cavander, chief science and innovation officer of Market Share Partners.
Making a Difference
"We told the students on day one that our objective in this course was to inspire them with the notion that marketing, the practice of bringing a brand to life, can make a huge difference in people's lives, a positive difference," Stengel said. "We wanted to inspire them through practical experiences, academic experiences and by teaching a new framework and a new approach to business and brands."
The course, Stengel explained, is organized around this framework, beginning with revelations about the particulars of different brand's beliefs and values, then an examination of how they reflect the beliefs and values of the brand's consumers or customers. From there, students learn the tactics, including organizational strategies, points of difference and points of parity and other nuts and bolts issues. Branding, Stengel said, is the entity, the centering focus of the company. Marketing is the practice of bringing the brand to life.
"Companies call it different things," Stengel said. "What I found in my study and in my experience is, if marketing isn't central to the company, it's not a leading company."
Stengel's study was carried out with UCLA Anderson researchers and Millward Brown Optimor, a leading global research agency specializing in advertising, marketing communications, media and brand equity research. It looked at how different brands have grown over a nine-year period, both financially and in terms of customer loyalty. Stengel started with 50,000 brands, narrowed it down to the top 50. The resulting analysis will be the basis of his upcoming book, "Grow," which will compare and contrast best practices and differences between top brands. The lessons distilled in "Grow" not only formed the basis for much of the course, they also helped form a bond between Stengel, the practitioner, and Sood, the professor.
A Shared Vision
"Jim and I worked well together, because we see a lot of branding issues in the same way," Sood said. "In fact, we discovered early on that his philosophy on branding is very similar to mine, and in fact, his book on brand ideals or purpose-driven marketing contains specifics that I am investigating in my own academic research."
This shared vision of purposeful marketing permeates the course's underlying message. As an example from his days at Procter & Gamble, Stengel noted that Pampers (the largest brand in the P&G universe) at one point saw its sales dropping. He said this was the result of the brand losing sight of why it was created. He explained that they were invented to help mothers and babies live their lives better, with more health and convenience and more happiness. When the brand returned to that original idea, the product program changed, the people that it attracted and recruited changed, the culture changed, the communication changed and the brand started to grow 10 percent plus, he said.
"When creating and building a brand, go back to the beginning and understand why the product or company was originally conceived," Stengel said. "Then talk to a lot of people who are important to the brand, employees, retail customers (if you sell through retail), certainly end customers, other stake holders and agencies. Then also be in touch with the values of your customers, because the brand should reflect those values. That's a long way of saying, go back to the origin. Make explicit the values of the people you're serving, and in that, you will reveal the meaning and the ideal of the brand."
Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
Sood said the course, taught for the first time in winter quarter 2010, had a number of highlights for him, including the visit with Procter & Gamble's Tosolini and the trip to advertising-giant TBWA, where the class discussed the innovative branding ideas and tactics behind Pepsi Refresh and Pedigree dog food. The professor also said he learned a lot from the practitioner.
"In academics, we don't get the chance very often to speak with somebody of Stengel's stature in one conversation, let alone having a whole class together," Sood said. "What we do in research is one step removed from what happens in practice, and to hear Jim talk about his career and what programs he put in place starts to trigger different research ideas almost immediately. I think Jim and I will work on some projects together that came directly out of the class."
From his own career experience, Stengel has distilled what he thinks are the two vital qualities that worked for him and for other people that he has observed along the way. He said that being a great brand manager and a great entrepreneur are very similar in this regard. First, they are curious, always asking why and not just taking the accepted truth without question. Second, they want to make an impact. He also said that these successful leaders help to keep everyone else focused on the three or four things that can really make a big difference for their company, so their values and ideals don't get lost in day-to-day distractions. And, to keep the central focus for his students, Stengel said that there is just one main take-away or lesson from the class, a simple one: "That great marketing and great brands can change the world."


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After visiting the new Tumblr blog Matchbook.nu, you'll think twice before tossing a book in your beach bag. The simple yet brilliant site pairs swimsuits with their book cover equivalent—and might inspire you to look on your shelf for a book that matches your black-and-white striped suit. Don DeLillo's "White Noise" (the 1990s cover) might be an option. Take a look at these matching books and bikinis from Matchbook.nu for more ideas.
Kate Imbach, a 31-year-old living in San Francisco, got the idea for Matchbook.nu a few weeks ago when she was at the pool and noticed a woman reading a book that incidentally matched her bathing suit almost perfectly.
When Imbach got home that day, she hopped online and looked at lots of book covers and bikinis. After awhile she started making connections between the two and Matchbook.nu was born.
The result is a simple yet smart Tumblr blog with swimsuits and books that look so similar that you assume book cover designers must be talking to swimsuit designers. Or at least they must be hanging out at the same bars in Manhattan, drinking the same Kool-Aid.
"I think the Kurt Vonnegut cover is the most mind-blowing," Imbach told SFGate. "I love this Sloane Crosley cover and it took me a long time to find the perfect match. I read Prep a long time ago and I just guessed that super preppy Vineyard Vines would have a match for it. And of course they did."
"I'm really enjoying the Olympics versions too, I'm about to post another one," Imbach added.
In only a few weeks Matchbook.nu took off and media outlets throughout the world have written about the site.
"Whether it's pairing Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment with the Trinity swimsuit by Chromat or Yann Martel's The Life of Pi with men's swimming trunks by EUROPANN, Imbach's book-swimsuit duos are as diverse as they are compatible," a story from the UK's Stylist.com reads.
Imbach hunts for images for her blog at night but she's also working creatively by day. She's the Style Editor at NewlyWish, a wedding registry site; advises the online radio site 8tracks (where she used to be VP of Marketing); and makes short documentaries like this one about a modernist classical composer who for the last 23 years has worked as cab driver in San Francisco.
Does Imbach wear a swimsuit that matches her book cover when she goes to the beach? "I'm committed to matching from now on," she says. "Right now I'm really into deep plunge one pieces, structure, and big prints."
And what about her favorite book? "The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which strikes the perfect balance between literature and murder mystery," she shares. No swimsuit match for this one yet but keep checking her site because she's continuously updating it.


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Here's a sentence you probably didn't see coming: the debut Pure Love album -featuring the rabid, head-bleeding former Gallows frontman Frank Carter - sounds like Shed Seven. No, really. And what's even weirder - it works surprisingly well.
When Carter walked out on his band and teamed up with Jim Carroll from the equally hardcore Hope Conspiracy, no-one knew quite what was coming next. The project's title hinted that Carter's days of screaming about "wipin' my cum off ya fackin' face" might be at an end, but even so - few would have anticipated such a dramatic about-face.
Anthems is many things: a punchy exploration of positivity and good grace; a rejection of the darkness in its authors' pasts both lyrically and musically that is at times insanely catchy; occasionally it has to be said, a wee bit workmanlike. What it isn't is by any definition punk. Not in the hardcore sense, not in the snotty Seventies sense, nor the poppy new wave sense. Instead Carter and Carroll have delivered a solid rock record routed in big, swaggering stadium guitars with more than a dollop of - of all things - post-Oasis Britpop. Had this come out in 1997 it would have slotted in as a natural, if muscular entry to the crowded pages of Select and Vox.
It's not just the aforementioned Shed Seven, there's shades here of Gold Against The Soul -era Manics ('Bury My Bones'), early Oasis ('She (Makes The Devil Run Through Me)'), the post-American Idiot Green Day ('Handsome Devils Club') and even U2 ('March of the Pilgrims'), with nods to the Smiths, Big Country, Springsteen, The Wildhearts and a hundred other bracing, widscreen rock bands. It's an unashamed shot at what Nicky Wire recently called "mass communication", and one that could well hit its mark.
Now, admit it: this sounds awful, doesn't it? That's a description of landfill indie of the worst kind. But you know what? It isn't awful. It's really good; occasionally it's even brilliant. Like the Gaslight Anthem, Pure Love know when to apply to common touch, they know when to widen into a big poppy chorus, or tighten right down. 'Beach of Diamonds' is a genuinely brilliant pop song, all big slashy Mick Jones chords with a belter of a chorus, 'Heavy Kind of Chain' is straight out of the Morrissey/Marr school of classic indie, 'Burning Love' is a beefy, emotive ballad with just enough lighters-in-the-air triumph and a downbeat tone.. It's a lot like, well... a lot like Shed Seven used to do (Let's get this out the way: the Sheds were a better band than you remember.) Few groups in the last decade have had the bollocks to go for the popularist jugular quite so effectively and so credibly.
For those following his career, it's Carter's voice that will surprise most - gone is the raspy yap often delivered from atop the speaker stack while bleeding on the circle pit, replaced by a fine, roughened croon that brings to mind Richard Ashcroft, Noel Gallagher or most often (yes) Rick Witter himself. But the real difference isn't Carter's voice; it's his outlook. It's likely every review of this record is going to quote the opening line of 'Bury My Bones': "I'm so sick of singing about hate, it's never gonna make a change", which sets the tone for a record that is far more about love than it is about hate, and far more about acceptance than the righteous, nihilistic fury of Gallows' Grey Britain.
There are times, as on the dry 'Scared To Death' where some of that fury would have come in handy, and Carter is a little too fond of the extended metaphor ("she is the needle, not the vein in your arm" or "You'll be the petrol, I'll be the fire".) Occasionally Carroll's arrangements shoot for for stadium anthem and come up with something a bit plodding and Dadrock. Fortunately such moments are remarkably thin on the ground.
Anthems is a confident, solid and ultimately hugely likable debut; Carter and Carroll have succeeded in producing something that on occasion genuinely lives up to its ambitious title, trading the aggressive outsider punk of their past lives for something more accessible and more positive, it's a huge risk given their respective fanbases, but one that pays off- not just chasing rainbows, but riding them.
7Marc Burrows's Score


text: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Showing on Tue 30 Jul 3:15PM Sperry's Moviehouse Holland - Theatre 9 Standard TicketsAvailable CostQtySubtotal Tuesday-Holland Tuesday-Holland 6.00 0.00 YourBasket Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 00.00 Promotion Total Ticket Fees Total Cost $0.00 Total Savings $0.00 (+0.00 points) (Excl. booking fee) 'Dinner and Movie for Two' package includes: Two tickets for a 6pm showing or later and a dinner for two beginning at 4pm or later. Guests will have the option to order off of 'Dinner for Two' menu which includes one appetizer and dessert to share along with two main courses. Dine-In Only. Available At Port Huron Location Only. Exclusive to 2nd Floor Dinnerhouse Only. GRATUITY INCLUDED. Pre-show begins 15 minutes before your showtime. No ticket refunds or swaps available after 30 minutes into purchased showtime. All show times are subject to change due to pre-bookings and public demand. Next


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Week 13: Bills Pull Out Improbable 17-16 Win
Lindell's fifth field goal wins it with :04 left.
by Steve Saslow
The Bills were able to get behind the right leg of Rian Lindell to come from behind to gain an improbable 17-16 win over the emotionally charged Washington Redskins. It was an emotional day and the Redskins led 16-5 in the third quarter before the Bills mounted a very slow, very methodical come back to gain the victory. Game ending bizarre field goals have become the norm in Bills games this year, this time it went in their favor. Lindell initially hit from 51 yards out but the Redskins used a timeout as the snap was happening. As Lindell lined up to kick it again the Redskins tried to call a 2nd timeout which isn't allowed. They were given a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and Lindell hit the shorter kick for his team record tying 17th straight field goal.
The offense struggled most of the way as they got near the red zone they were forced to settle for five Lindell kicks on the day and a safety on defense for their unorthodox 17 points. They refused to stay with the running game that was impressive averaging eight yards a carry in the first half. Little used Fred Jackson had a great performance, he ran well but not often. He did well in the passing game as well, his huge 54 yard reception hasn't been seen by a Bills running back in a long time and setup one of the three 4th quarter field goals. They seemed focused on the pass and Trent Edwards struggled early but led the team to the game winning drive in the final :56 with no timeouts left. The big play was a 30 yard pass over the middle to Josh Reed to setup the winning kick.
The defense really tightened in the second half after the Redskins went up and down the field in the first half. They had three long drives but the red zone was the only place the Bills held strong early on. The Redskins converted third down after third down until they got close but not in the end zone. Three of their four first half possessions were long field goal drives of 14, 13, and 13 plays. The only stop the Bills had got them two points. Angelo Crowell sacked Jason Campbell in the end zone for a safety to make it 6-2 in the 2nd quarter.
Lindell hit his first field goal on the Bills opening drive of the 2nd half but the Redskins responded with the only touchdown drive of the game by either team. Clinton Portis ran it in from three yards out to give the Redskins their biggest lead of the game. It was all Bills after that despite their inability to get the ball in the end zone. They would pick at the Redskins the rest of the way on offense while the defense just shut the door tight. Washington failed to score another point and have two giveaways that led to Bills' field goals on successive possessions to pull the Bills back in the game at 16-11.
The defense stopped taking the ball away in the fourth quarter but did keep the Redskins out of the scoring zone. The Bills pulled within 16-14 on Lindell's fourth field goal on a nice drive that was highlighted by Jackson's catch and run. The Bills would punt on a three and out on their next possession. The defense would give up a first down but stopped the Redskins on the next set of downs setting up the winning drive by Edwards that started at the Bills 22 with :56 left and no timeouts and ended with that great leg of Lindell once again.
It was an emotional game with everyone's hearts a bit heavy with the death of Sean Taylor. Everyone wondered how the Redskins would play. They were inspired but emotions didn't really come onto the field as it was a hard fought effort by two mediocre teams with the Bills doing enough in the end to barely pull it out. They young offensive tandem of Edwards and Jackson did a beautiful job in between the 20s and I'll give Edwards props for the bomb to Reed to setup the winning kick but this offense needs to do a hell of a lot more going forward. The defense was scary in the first half but scary good after the Redskins touchdown. The Bills remain on the fringe of the playoff picture at 6-6 with winless Miami coming to town next week. A nice win aside, they aren't really a playoff team the way they are playing now but it's nice to be playing games that may mean something in December even if it's a long shot.
Here are our exclusive gameballs and goats from the Bills game against the Redskins:


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SENIOR POWER Five matzohs for Nora!
I recommend Nora's Will, a 2011 DVD about death, family, love, mental health, Passover, and suicide.
It's from Mexico, in Spanish, closed captioned in English or French. Cinco Dias Sin Nora [Five Days Without Nora] came first, in 2009, as a motion picture by writer-director Mariana Chenillo.
I'm usually skeptical about claims of "serious comedy" —not this time, though. And the humor is quite acceptable, even relevant. Most reviews of Nora's Will go something like this one: "Set among Mexico City's Jewish community, this comedy focuses on the complications involved with organizing a memorial while others are preoccupied with Passover. Also complicating matters are José's status as a nonbeliever and the unexpected contents of Nora's will."
Here's my take. Nora Boren Kurtz ("Mrs. Boren") and José Kurtz are neighbors, each armed with binoculars, in their own nearby apartments. Hers is particularly nice. Cut flowers, books, resident cat, Passover dinner china and crystal table-setting for ten, snacks here and there. His is ok. Dozing, online card games, and constant nibbling evidently occupy his time. He has a key to her apartment and her on speed dial.
Twenty years ago, after thirty years of marriage and a son, he divorced her. During the times when she had most needed his understanding and support, he responded with jealousy that continues to affect their lives. She suffered while he failed her, and she has attempted suicide several times. His disagreeable negativism is conveyed in remarks like "She's 63 but looks 70" and frequent references to "my ex-wife." When the rabbi asks him to complete a questionnaire about Nora for his (the rabbi's!) use at the burial service, José is smug about his inability to think of five charitable or good deeds performed by her. But he's great with kids.
How could things have gotten so screwed-up. We must come to our own conclusions, and there may be more than one direction in which one might go. José is well-acted by 75-year old Mexican TV and film actor and father of ten Fernando Luján. Nora, alive and dead, is played by Silvia Mariscal (1946- ), seen mostly in telenovelas.
Nora schedules her death right before Passover, forcing José to stay with her body until she can be buried properly. He soon realizes that he is part of Nora's calculated plan to bring her family back together for one last Passover feast. He views it as her wish to control him. The rabbi informs José that if she is not buried immediately, they will have to wait five days -- cinco dias already. When the actual cause of Nora's death dawns on the rabbi, he invokes a rule that prohibits burial of deceased suicides: a "special area of the cemetery is set aside for criminals and suicides." And he spreads his good word around the community.
Nora's (and José's) son chimes in by long-distance: he objects to cremation and embalming of his mother. José consults the yellow pages for a cemetery. Nora's preparations included listing cemeteries in her address book. The Cemetery of Jesus, offers a Wake-To-Go service. Ultimately, the only nonjudgmental response that José is able to get from Christian and Jewish buriers is "What goes on in each person's head is a mystery we must not judge."
From her bedroom, where she has been laid out on ice, Nora's final days are dominated by three problem guys: José, rabbi Jacowitz, and Dr. Alberto Murko, friend-of-the-family-type psychiatrist whom José calls to confirm Nora's death and who counseled José, "She can never fall in love again." Also involved in Nora's strategy are two great cooks -- "Nanny" Fabiana and far-sighted Aunt Leah from Guadalajara -- who convert shomer Moisés to cookery.
José is finally seated at the Passover table, opposite the empty chair that is Nora's. The second time I saw Nora's Will I discovered nuances I'd have otherwise missed. The title refers, not to the documents she has addressed to each person, but to Nora's determination.
Five out of five for Nora's Will.
Murder-suicide is a disturbing trend among the elderly. Assisted suicide is on the agenda in several states. Asian Americans struggle with suicide. Among Chinese elderly, it is on the rise, and as families change, South Korea's elderly are turning to suicide.
Bioethicists are concerned with ethical questions in relationships among biotechnology, life sciences, law, philosophy, and politics. They also study the more commonplace questions of values -- the ethics of the ordinary, as it has been called -- which arise in primary care and other branches of medicine.
Here's a book that could serve as raw material for instructors of "selection and collection- building" courses that are often part of library and media education curricula, and especially for users of case study methodology. In Forced Exit, bioethicist Wesley J. Smith (1949- ) confounds assisted suicide and the right-to-die with euthanasia. Of Smith's Forced Exit: Euthanasia, Assisted Suicide, and the New Duty to Die (2003,) the Library Journal (not a scholarly journal) declared "Above all, Smith fears that euthanasia will eventually become a legally enforceable right to kill. Not one to mince words, he calls proponents of the right-to die movement 'death fundamentalists' and warns against the degeneration of essential human values."
In his Culture of Death; the Assault on Medical Ethics in America (1997,) Smith opposed deliberate self-chosen and medically-assisted death. In Forced Exit…he describes euthanasia as a "caste of disposable people" and the betrayal of medicine is "an enemy of the disabled." Hospice or hemlock—the choice is allegedly ours. Encounter Books, an American conservative publisher, advertises "this expanded edition of a classic book…a compelling case against legalized euthanasia… a closer look at the truly humane and compassionate alternatives."
According to Smith (Forced Exit page 9, ): "… those most vocal in pushing the death agenda seem to be those least likely to be victimized by it… They downplay the harm that will follow for the poor, the uneducated, those without access to medical care, or the disabled… Not to worry, these death culture leaders breezily assert, 'protective guidelines' will fix everything."
He refers to Compassion & Choices as "a new euthanasia advocacy organization formed when the Compassion in Dying Federation merged with the Hemlock Society." We are, he says, "people of the 'overclass': well-off whites with a strong and supportive family or social structure who never believe they could be victimized or pressured into an early death." I am a Caucasian, feminist, Compassion & Choices life-time member, with no family, an educated former LJ reviewer.
On Thursday, May 2 - 1:30 to 2:45 P.M. , the Alameda County Library Albany branch at 1247 Marin Avenue (510-526-3720) will sponsor a Veterans' benefits program of particular interest to seniors and their families.
A Yale University study has found Facebook bias against elderly people among Facebook users. Researchers found that a startling percentage of public Facebook groups in a targeted search engine sample contained negative stereotypes of people over the age of 60. The descriptions included everything from severe sarcasm to assertion that older people should be put before a firing squad. This is 'must' reading: [Jim Shelton (New Haven [Connecticut] Register via San Jose [California] Mercury News, March 31, 2013).]
On March 7, 2013, Susanna Kim reported on 150 nations' "retirement security." The United States ranked 19 among the top 20. The Global Retirement Index measured how well retired people live based on health measures, income levels, their country's financial state, and quality of life. The analysis used data World Bank and United Nations data. The U.S. finished with a final score of 74%. Norway top-ranked, with an 87% score. The U.S. ranks 23rd by health measurements, with the world's highest per-capita health spending, but lags behind other nations in its access to care and life expectancy. [ABC News]


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Hope's cross country teams have finished second in the seasonal standings of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).
Hope's cross country teams have finished second in the seasonal standings of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).
Coach Mark Northuis' squads placed second at the nine-team conference championship meet held Saturday, Nov. 1. Over the past two decades the Flying Dutchmen and Flying Dutch have finished third or higher in the conference standings every year.
Hope finishers in the men's meet were: Rob Bailey, 5th (25:18); Seth Weener, 6th (25:19); Matt Wiersum, 11th (25:57); Nathan Love, 15th (26:19); Collin Kooy, 17th (26:20); Zach King, 18th (26:21) and Paul Vandervelde, 20th (26:24).
Hope finishers in the women's meet were: Karli Sikma, 10th (23:20); Kate Nelson, 11th (23:30); Kelly Lufkin, 12th (23:39); Claire Bird, 16th (24:03); Kate Freshour, 18th (24:09); Susan Savasky, 19th (24:10); Emily Fischer, 20th (24:14).
Seniors Seth Weener of Grandville, Mich. (Grandville HS) and Rob Bailey of Portage, Ind. (Portage HS) achieved All-MIAA first team honors for the second time in their careers. Weener was also an All-MIAA honoree in track & field last spring.
Receiving All-MIAA second team recognition were sophomore Emily Fischer of Naperville, Ill. (Naperville Central HS); senior Zach King of Portage, Mich. (Portage Northern HS); freshman Kelly Luftkin of Houghton (Houghton HS); freshman Kate Nelson of Williamston (Williamston HS); senior Paul VanderVelde of Lawrence, Kan. (Free State HS); and junior Matt Wiersum of Minnetonka, Minn. (Minnetonka HS).


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This Date In Royals History – October 11, 1985
Though George Brett's seminal moment was covered on October 10th, it was twenty-four years ago on this date which in my mind – and I know in many others – was his single greatest performance. Royals Hall of Fame broadcaster Denny Matthews rightly calls it the single most important game in Royals History.
It was Friday, October 11, 1985 at Royals Stadium – Game 3 of the American League Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City was down two games to none. Luckily this was the first season with best of seven LCS play or the hole might have already been too big for the Royals. But for all intents and purposes this was an absolute 'must win' if there ever was one. Here was George's night:
Bottom of the First (Score: Blue Jays 0, Royals 0)
� Two-out bases empty HR to RF seats
Top of the Third (Score: Blue Jays 0, Royals 1)
� Cuts down tying run at the plate with great defensive play
Bottom of the Fourth (Score: Blue Jays 0, Royals 1)
� Lead off double high against the RF wall – scores on Sac Fly by Frank White
I think it was somewhere around this time in the game's radio broadcast that Denny Matthews asked, "What more can he do?" Well Denny, there was more to come…
Bottom of the Sixth (Score: Blue Jays 5, Royals 3)
� Two-run HR over wall in left-centerfield
Bottom of the Eighth (Score: Blue Jays 5, Royals 5)
� Leads off with single into RF – scores two-out RBI Single by Steve Balboni
Top of the Ninth (Score: Blue Jays 5, Royals 6)
� Records final out of the game catching foul pop off bat of Lloyd Moseby
Wow…not much more to write than that…just wow.
Just A Bit More: This is the game that finally got Dick Howser into the win column in the postseason. After catching the last out and getting a huge hug from Frank White, George sought Dick out and gave him the ball. If you ever get to see that footage you can see how important that moment was for George. You can nearly read his lips as he hands the baseball to his friend and manager "This one is for you – you deserve it."
There was so much still to come in that magical October of 1985, but it probably would have ended earlier and in much heartache without George's best game ever.
(Curt Nelson, Director – Royals Hall of Fame)
1 Comment
Don?t know if one player had one game that was more important to one club eventually winning a championship. Take away anyone of those hits/plays and the Royals are toast, a lot of history is re-written. Certainly there have been many history changing plays, but so many by one guy in one night? Best I?ve ever seen!


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|Whole okra, steamed, salted and dipped in butter.
Steamed OkraSome of you who don't care for okra will not be interested in this recipe at all, but I can tell you that people who love okra, pretty much love it anyway you fix it and I happen to be one of them.
We use it regularly in gumbo here in the Deep South and even folks who aren't real fond of it, consume it that way without blinking an eye.
|A seafood gumbo made with a dark roux, a rich shrimp stock, the Trinity of vegetables, okra, tomatoes, andouille and shrimp, crab and oysters.
|A southern favorite, okra is sliced and cooked in bacon drippings and Vidalia onion, garden or canned tomatoes and a can of Rotel tomatoes for a little extra kick.
|Basic lima bean and corn succotash gets a boost from summer bounty with the addition of sweet Vidalia onions, fresh tomatoes, bell pepper, okra and some smoked meat.
|Classic Southern style, cast iron skillet fried okra.
If you love boiled okra, but haven't ever tried it steamed, you'll find it to be a little less gooey than the boiling method and it's now my preferred way to make it. Here's how.
Recipe: Steamed Okra©From the Kitchen of Deep South Dish
Prep time: 10 min |Cook time: 15 min | Yield: About 4 to 6 servings
- 1 pound of whole okra pods
- Kosher or sea salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup of butter, melted
Rinse whole pods of okra and place into a steamer basket over a pot containing at least 1-1/2 to 2 inches of boiling water. Water should not touch the bottom of the steamer basket. Cover and steam for about 12 to 15 minutes or until fork tender, ensuring that the water does not boil out. Plate, sprinkle with salt and serve with hot, melted butter for dipping.
Source: http://deepsouthdish.com
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