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Cardinals rookie QB Thomas rejects 'project' label
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona rookie quarterback Logan Thomas rejects the "project" label and says he's a lot closer to being ready to play in the NFL than people think.
Thomas, the Cardinals' fourth-round draft pick out of Virginia Tech, made the comments while meeting with reporters at Cardinals headquarters on Friday.
"I think I'm a lot more ready than people think," he said. "I think people labeled me as a project simply off stats, which I can understand what they see, what they think."
Thomas said that when the word project is used, "you're thinking of building something from the ground up," but he believes the problems he has are correctable.
He said he's working in the offseason with quarterbacks specialist George Whitfield on the causes of the passing inaccuracy issues that were the main reason he was still around when Arizona made its fourth-round pick.
"For one, I put my foot down," Thomas said. "I'd be on my tippy toes, which would cause me not to have the right balance and cause the ball to be erratic. So we fixed that to where I'm putting my whole foot on the ground."
He also has had to work on how to throw under extreme pressure.
"When I'm under chaos in the pocket," Thomas said, "being able to get back to a good position to throw the ball, because when I was off-balance was when things were going bad."
The 6-foot-6 quarterback threw for 53 touchdowns but had 39 interceptions in his three seasons as Hokies starter. Last year, he had 16 TD passes and 13 picks.
"I don't think it's because I'm not accurate," he said. "I think it's just because I put myself in bad positions to be accurate, and everything's correctable."
He said he's corrected some of the problems already in the offseason but knows he needs repetition.
"To break habits is really tough," he said. "... I just think it's a lot of reps over and over again."
Coach Bruce Arians says the top two quarterbacks, Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton, are not going to change. That means Thomas has to beat out Ryan Lindley for the third-string job. Thomas said Lindley has been extremely helpful in meetings and informal workouts this week.
"Ryan's been great actually, yesterday especially," Thomas said. "I was out there asking a bunch of questions and he wasn't hesitating to tell me and try to help me along."
Asked which quarterbacks he looks to as models of what he wants to become, Thomas mentioned Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck.
"They're extremely deadly with their arms," he said, "but they'll kill you with their legs outside the pocket."
He also was asked where he'd like to be in two years.
"I'd love to be a starter in the league, playing great football, especially for a great organization like this," Thomas said. "However it goes down, I see myself working up to the top. But if it doesn't happen, I'll still be the same person I am today, working hard and trying to get there."
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL


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Treyarch look to be doing their bit for PC technological advancement by announcing that the Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 engine will be using DirectX 11. According to Treyarch, "The DX11 API is leaner than DX9 and requires less CPU time to do the same amount of work, [so] this benefits the entire range of supported GPUs, not just DX11 hardware."
Good news for most, but if you're still using Windows XP as your operating system (and quite a few do, as the Steam hardware surveys tend to demonstrate) you won't be able to run the game.
If you do have a DirectX 11 compatible operating system, various graphics options are being promised including "enhanced lighting, shadows, antialiasing, bloom, depth of field [and] ambient occlusion." You can also look forward to much higher resolutions and a higher framerate than the console versions. If, that is, you have a beefy enough PC.
How beefy? At least this beefy (these are the minimum specs):
- CPU: Intel Core2 Duo E8200 2.66 GHz or AMD Phenom X3 8750 2.4 GHz
- Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 512 MB or ATI Radeon HD 3870 512 MB
- Memory: 2GB for 32-bit OS or 4GB for 64-bit OS
- OS: Windows Vista SP2 or Windows 7
Source: Treyarch

subset: commoncrawl


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The April 21, 2015 Rome completes 2768 years and celebrates with events throughout the city. On 21 April 753 B.C by Romulus founded the city of Rome according to astrological calculations of Varro, and from that day that you count the years of the Eternal City. Throughout history were many celebrations imperial era, have come to us coins minted for ... Read More »
Rome Events
"Shooting in Cinecittà": an exhibition on Italian cinema in Rome
On January 24, the permanent exhibition "Shooting in Cinecittà" was inaugurated at Cinecittà it tells the history of Italian cinema and photographs the most important productions of the Studios. The Studios are a set of theaters with more than 3000 movie sets, which served as the backdrop for many Italian and international films, also Oscar nominees and representing an important ... Read More »
Marathon in Rome
Rome is not only the city symbol of ancient history , but it can also be visited for other reasons, such as for example sports , and in particular for the classic Marathon in Rome. It is scheduled for Sunday, March 22 departure for Rome Marathon 2015, when all participants will depart from Via dei Fori Imperiali at 08:50 to ... Read More »
New Year's Day in Rome
There are only a few days at left till the end of the year and Rome is preparing to greet the 2014 year with events, concerts, fireworks over the many places offering every type of event according to their own desires. Rome during the New Year's Eve is a triumph of concerts, shows and carnivals. Various initiatives will cheer Year's ... Read More »
Christmas in Rome
8 December, is the official start in Rome of the celebrations and initiatives related to Christmas. The lights that decorate the city shine through the streets of the city, and everything begins to take on the Christmas atmosphere, between events and decorations. The play of light on the Via del Corso dedicated, this year, to the colors of the nations ... Read More »


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This year we will be raising money for the conservation project at Bristol Zoo Gardens – "Desertas Wolf Spider" Hogna ingens.
Please head to the site above to donate – there will be various raffles and sales coming up on the channel with all proceeds going support the project.
Here's what Bristol Zoo have to say about it (extract is taken from the website)
Desertas Grande Islands, Madeira
The Desertas wolf spider (Hogna ingens) is endemic to Vale da Castanheira, Desertas Islands, Madeira, Portugal. Despite having an impressive 40mm body size and being the largest known species of wolf spider, very little is known about this species.
Even though some taxonomists have provided redescriptions, every other aspect of this remarkable species has remained unknown until recently. It was assessed as Critically Endangered according to the IUCN (Cardoso 2014) but is not protected by any international, national or regional legislation or agreements.
In the absence of any native terrestrial mammals, this spider is a top predator in its habitat. Although its major prey consists of other invertebrates, such as beetles, woodlice and millipedes, adults have also been seen predating on juvenile lizards. The latter, along with birds and mice, are the major predators of H. ingens, mostly during its juvenile stage. This is when the spider is most vulnerable to predators because in addition to its smaller size, it tends to disperse in order to find new shelters, thus maximizing the likelihood of encounters with potential predators. As spiders grow and find proper shelters, mostly below rocks but also in soil crevices, their inclination to disperse gradually decreases. It takes about two years for spiders to reach maturity.
The small valley where the spider lives is currently mostly covered by Phalaris spp. The colonization of this grass in the Vale da Castanheira was hidden for some years due to the presence of rabbits that grazed and controlled the spread of the plant. With the eradication of rabbits from the Valley in 1996, Phalaris lost its main predator and now proliferates. This grass appears to not only displace many native plants, but also many of the native animals. It covers the surface of the soil and rocks, making the microhabitats below the rocks harder to access for the spiders.
A workshop was held in Funchal, Madeira, on May 9 – 10, 2016. Participants from the Regional Directorate of Environment, Madeira Natural Park Services (two bodies that have now merged under the Institute of Forests and Conservation of Nature – IFCN), University of Madeira, IUCN Species Survival Commission and Bristol Zoological Society were involved. Following this, an ex-situ programme was started for the species with the focus being at Bristol Zoo Gardens, where an EAZA EEP is being coordinated in line with the management proposals discussed during the strategy workshop.
Five year objectives:
- To restore the ecological balance in the Castanheira Valley through the reduction of Phalaris density on the assumption that a viable population of spiders will persist across the entire valley
- To analyze the genetic structure of the population, its habitat preferences and the potential consequences of climate change
- To maintain and breed a second spider population at Bristol Zoo Gardens
- To raise awareness of the importance and uniqueness of the spider to visitors at Bristol Zoo Gardens


text:
Hey how about we get some of the in-jokes run up as stickers?
"Jello Picnic" stickers in the Jalop logo script.
A windshield strip that says "SOON" for Mustangs.
A rear window decal with an arrow pointing down and to the right with "1.5psi off (and no turn signals)" for BMW.
Let's make this happen.


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Hernandez returns to the bench as Canaries go with unchanged starting XI for Preston clash
PUBLISHED: 14:16 21 April 2018 | UPDATED: 14:16 21 April 2018
©Focus Images Limited www.focus-images.co.uk +447814 482222
Daniel Farke has kept faith with the Norwich City starting XI which were cruelly beaten 2-0 late on by promotion chasing Cardiff last weekend for this afternoon's match at Preston North End.
The Canaries boss has retained Harrison Reed at right-back ahead of Ivo Pinto despite the Southampton loanee going off with a back knock last Saturday.
That retains the same back four which faced the Bluebirds, with Cuban winger Onel Hernandez returning to the bench after injury. The January signing has missed City's last five matches but is fit enough to feature among the substitutes.
The Canaries are looking to bounce back from a 2-0 home defeat to promotion chasing Cardiff last weekend, with their mid-table finish already determined.
Alex Neil's one change to their starting line-up sees former Canaries boss Alex Neil bringing Paul Gallagher in for Daniel Johnson in midfield, with City academy product Declan Rudd starting in goal.
North End can move level on points with teams in the top six with victory, depending on results elsewhere, after following up a 3-1 home win over Leeds with a 2-1 success at QPR last weekend.
NORWICH: Gunn; Reed, Hanley, Klose, Lewis; Tettey (C), Leitner; Vrancic, Maddison, Murphy; Srbeny. Subs: McGovern (GK), Raggett, Pinto, Husband, Hernandez, Hoolahan, Oliveira
PRESTON: Rudd; Fisher, Clarke (C), Huntington, Cunningham; Pearson; Bodin, Gallagher, Browne, Barkhuizen; Robinson. Subs; Maxwell (GK), Davies, Earl, Maguire, Harrop, Johnson, Moult
City team news
Onel Hernandez and Marco Stiepermann are both available after lengthy injury absences. Harrison Reed has also been passed fit following his late exit against Cardiff with a back problem. Christoph Zimmermann (quad) is ruled out and Sean Raggett (leg) is a doubt. Tom Trybull is back in training but will not be considered. Matt Jarvis and Louis Thompson (Achilles) are longer term absentees.
Preston team news
Leading goal scorer Sean Maguire (hamstring) is poised for a late fitness test after missing last weekend's win at QPR.
Preston manager – Alex Neil
Former City boss who guided the Canaries to promotion at Wembley, but was unable to keep Norwich in the Premier League. Dismissed 12 months ago with Neil unable to repeat his success of getting the club firmly in the play-off mix. Following a period out of the game was appointed as Preston's manager in July 2017, after the departure of Simon Grayson.
Referee – Geoff Eltringham (Durham)
Shown three red and 119 yellow cards in 33 appointments this season.
• Follow full updates from Deepdale in our Matchday Live blog at pinkun.com/live


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Magazine FTL (For The Lose)
June 11, 2007
Store: EB Games
Location: Houston, TX in West Oaks Mall
Employee Description: Bald Dork, Mr. Mag Pusher
Submitted By: MidnightScott
So just last year in June 2006, I called around the stores because I had garnered interest in a game called Trauma Center: Under the Knife for the DS. The guy on the phone at the store in the mall said he had it, so we went down there, and he sold me it used for $22 exactly if I signed up for Game Informer Magazine. You know honestly I didn't want another magazine since I had Nintendo Power, and the guy seemed really pushy.
My mom asked me if I wanted it so I just rolled my eyes and said go ahead. So we wasted that extra $14.99 or whatever it cost on some crappy Game Informer magazine. I read the first issue and already knew it was worthless, they were a bunch of Sony fanboys. And I just NOW discovered that the magazine is owned by GameStop Corp…which just really ticked me off.
Store: EB Games
Location: Pittsford, NY
Employee Description: Toothless Gray Manager F**k and Goatee Pervert Asst Manager
Submitted By: Mass Debater
For 6 months I worked in my local EB Games. I was told to push preorders, and "GPG's" (Game Play Guarantee's) and at the time the company offered you "SPIFF" (No idea what that stood for) – SPIFF was a commission on the amount of GPG's you got.
Well a month after I started there they introduced the magazine give away. The shadiest thing I've ever seen, if you paid for your bill with a credit card, a slip would print out for me to give to you to sign up for a magazine. You got the first 2 months free, but then your credit card got billed for a 1 year subscription. We got a few bucks (SPIFF) for each one of these we pushed. I never felt right about this promotion and I always told customers that they would eventually get billed.
Toothless Gray pulls me into his office, to tell me that I need to push the magazines better. That I needed to stop telling the customers they would get billed, not to say they wouldn't just to stop saying they would, so I could get more of them to go along. I told him I had a really tough time doing that, then finally I resorted to lying and told him that I would work on pushing them more.
A week goes by and I haven't a single customer signed up, so Goatee Pervert pulls me aside and tells me how to handle getting them to sign. "All you do is tell them they paid with a certain amount of money, for example their total comes to $25.99 say 'You spent over 25 today so you qualify for 2 free months of as many magazines as you'd like' (meanwhile the more magazines they signed for, the more the company would get) then if they ask if they'll get billed, just tell them no." I watched him pull this tactic several times. To many unsuspecting people just trying to get their games and leave.
"We don't carry adventure games, we only carry big name games like Halo and GTA and Madden football"
June 5, 2007
Store: EB Games
Location: New Orleans, LA
Employee: Thug
Submitted By: Humanoise
Okay, so I like all kinds of games – whatever – but I've always liked adventure games the most (of the point-n-click kind). There is an EB Games by my house that for some reason last year fired everyone and hired straight up ghetto thugs from my neighborhood. They always have their friends there and play sports games on ALL three systems that are set up for up coming or new games. I know they carry PC games and adventures because that is where I buy them at. So when I called for Moment of Silence they said,
"What kind of game is it?"
Now why would that matter… plus the website said they had it and when I told him that he said,
"Well the site isn't for our store it's for the company and the web site can't know what we have in stock."
Wrong – at 8 AM the site gets updated with stock info for the stores and you can search… blahblahblah.
So then he says,
"We don't carry adventure games we only carry big name games like Halo and GTA and Madden football."
"That's the only type of games you have?" I said.
Get this… "You know videogame magazines? We only get games from those."
WTF is that?… Anyways, I went in two days later and the game was on the shelf but it was a different guy… Thats my story.


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787 Bay RoadS. Hamilton, MA 01982 Phone: 978-468-0362Fax: 978-468-8454Safe Arrival: 978-468-0350Main Office: M-F 7:15am-3:15pm
****Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we have unfortunately had to cancel the Washington D.C. trip for this year****
Dear 8th Grade Parent/Guardian,
We are excited to have our 8th grade students return to Washington D.C. this year. The trip will take place May 19th to May 22nd 2020. We had an outstanding trip last year!
We will be continuing our partnership with Close Up (www.closeup.org), a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization that since 1971 has provided hands-on educational programs for over 850,000 students and teachers from across the country.
Using the nation's capital as a living classroom, students will get a 'close up' view of American history, government, and democracy in action that will bring connect to the 8th grade curriculum particularly in the areas of civics, the Holocaust, and human rights. Miles River teachers will be developing the program along with Close Up staff. Close Up trains its own staff of full-time teaching fellows to deliver an engaging and exciting curriculum that helps students connect what they are seeing and experiencing in D.C. to what they have learned in school.
During our time in Washington, students will have the opportunity to visit many of the key institutions and historic sites of Washington D.C. —highlights include:
Famous monuments and memorials
World-renowned Smithsonian Museums
Mock Congress -- an in-depth simulation of the legislative process
Opportunity to meet with members of Congress or staff on Capitol Hill
Discussions about current issues facing our community and country
Safety is Close Up's #1 priority – Close Up provides 24-hour supervision on program, including night monitors on every hotel hallway, one instructor per twenty students, a program leader and a dedicated Close Up representative for our school. Close Up is a full-service provider -- the all-inclusive tuition cost of $995 per participant includes the round-trip coach bus transportation, quality hotel accommodations, all meals in D.C., entrance fees, program logistics and planning.
We invite all interested families to hear more about this coming year's Washington, DC trip at a meeting that will be held in the Miles River Multipurpose room on Tuesday October 22nd at 7:00pm. If you are unable to attend the meeting, please feel free to contact me at firstname.lastname@example.com. We hope your student joins us for this once in a lifetime experience!
Craig Hovey
Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District 5 School St Wenham, MA 01984 Phone: 978-468-5310 Directions | Contact Us | Sitemap


text: Don't mess with Wale – especially at a wrestling event! A "fan" (or hater?) learned that the hard way over the weekend, when they began heckling the MMG rapper on Twitter after spotting him near them at the WWE event, and Wale quickly approached the guy and handled it accordingly. Hopefully no lawsuits are in the future.


text:
it's a short walk…
Test for Omens Studio.
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woohooo new stuff! nice one! love the colors
Wow you def improved. This looks really good! A slightly new style, i like it.
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HM Land Registry calculates that 125,000 buyers will benefit from just the first phase of its digitisation programme for Local Land Charges.
From July 11 the first local authority in the UK, Warwick district council, has been able to handle local land charge searches digitally.
The Registry says it also working with up to 26 other local authorities in England over 2018 and 2019 to migrate their LLC1 data to a central, digital register as part of a phased migration approach. The other authorities are known to include Liverpool, Blackpool, Norwich, Peterborough and Lambeth.
The aim is to improve the speed of delivery of LLC1 searches, which are used as part of the property conveyancing process.
Now the Registry says this first phase of activity will benefit 125,000 buyers and, after later phases, all 326 local authorities currently holding local land charges information will have their data available digitally - in theory, drastically reducing the time it takes for conveyancers to retrieve the appropriate information.
"Standardising this information in one place, and at a fixed cost, will make home-buying simpler and cheaper" says the Registry.


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In The Supreme Court
The State, Respondent,
Eric Wayne Cochran, Defendant,
In Re: All Out Bonding Company, Surety, Appellant.
The State, Respondent,
Jarrid R. Luther McInnis, Defendant,
In Re: All Out Bonding Company, Surety, Appellant.
The State, Respondent,
Corey Phillip Spicer, Defendant,
In Re: All Out Bonding Company, Surety, Appellant.
Appeal From Greenville County
Larry R. Patterson, Circuit Court Judge
Opinion No. 25799
Heard February 4, 2004 - Filed April 5, 2004
James W. Bannister, of Greenville, for Appellant.
Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson, and Senior Assistant Attorney General Norman Mark Rapoport, all of Columbia, and Solicitor Robert M. Ariail, of Greenville, for Respondent.
PER CURIAM: All Out Bonding Company (appellant) appeals three circuit court orders, which have been consolidated for this appeal, holding appellant liable for the estreatment of three separate bonds. We affirm the circuit court orders.
Did the circuit court err in finding appellant liable for bonds written for the defendants' failure to appear in court?
Appellant is a licensed insurance agency which has been appointed by Frontier Insurance Company (Frontier) to act as its agent. Mike Curlee, the owner of appellant, is licensed by the Department of Insurance as a surety bondsman. Frontier acts as a surety and it posts the required collateral necessary to enable appellant to write bonds.
Appellant issued bail bonds to three defendants. When appellant issued the bonds, the "Order Specifying Methods and Conditions of Release" forms were signed "All Out Bail Bonding" and attached to the forms were Powers of Attorney executed by Frontier. [1] Subsequent to appellant issuing the bonds, Frontier determined that it would no longer be licensing agents in South Carolina due to the Superintendent of Insurance of the State of New York declaring Frontier insolvent and placing Frontier on rehabilitated status. The South Carolina Department of Insurance has determined to honor the New York Order.
After the defendants failed to appear as required by the bonds, an estreatment hearing was held in March 2002 for all three bonds. Appellant asserted it had been acting as Frontier's agent, and therefore could not be held liable for its acts on behalf of the principal. Appellant asked that the estreatments be stayed pursuant to the New York Order of Rehabilitation. The court allowed the State to estreat the bonds.
Appellant asserts that it is not liable on the bonds at issue because it signed the bonds only in its capacity as an agent for Frontier. We disagree. Proceedings to estreat bonds are governed by statute. Surety is defined as "one who, with the defendant, is liable for the amount of the bail bond upon forfeiture of bail." S.C. Code Ann. § 38-53-10 (11) (2002). When a bond is violated by the defendant's failure to appear, the State has a right to full estreatment. S.C. Code Ann. § 17-15-170 (2003).
The State's right to estreatment is governed by contract. State v. Boatwright, 310 S.C. 281, 423 S.E.2d 139 (1992). In the case at hand, each bond was signed "All Out Bail Bonding" on the line marked "Name of Surety." There was no indication on the actual bond that Appellant was signing as Power of Attorney for Frontier. When a contract is clear and unequivocal, its meaning must be determined by its contents alone. Dibble v. Dibble, 248 S.C. 165, 181, 149 S.E.2d 355, 364 (1966). Looking at the four corners of the document, appellant alone was listed as the surety. The documents attached to the bond demonstrate only that Frontier agreed to underwrite the bonds signed by appellant.
The circuit court judge properly estreated the bonds against appellant. The estreatment orders are affirmed.
TOAL, C.J., MOORE, PLEICONES, JJ., and Acting Justices Alexander S. Macaulay and Daniel F. Pieper, concur.
[1] The Power of Attorney form that is attached to the release forms says "[Frontier] does make, constitute and appoint the named agent its true and lawful Attorney-in-Fact for it and in its name, place and stead, to execute seal and deliver for and on its behalf and as its act and deed, as surety, a bail bond only…The obligation of the company shall not exceed the sum of [amount of bond] and provided this Power-of-Attorney is filed with the bond and retained as part of the court records."


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By Barry Bassis
I don't remember any year when there were so many country/bluegrass musicals in town.
Robber Bridegroom, The Laura Pels Theatre
Cast List:
Andrew Durand, Evan Harrington, Leslie Kritzer, Ahna O'Reilly, Steven Pasquale, Nadia Quinn, Lance Roberts, Devere Rogers
Production Credits:
Alex Timbers (director)
Justin Levine (music director)
Connor Gallagher (choreography)
Donyale Werle (sets)
Emily Rebholz (costumes)
Jeff Croiter & Jake DeGroot (lighting)
Darron L West & Charles Coes (sound)
Justin Levine & Martin Lowe (orchestrations)
Leah Loukas (wig and make-up)
Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum (fight director)
Other Credits:
Written by: Alfred Uhry
Music by: Robert Waldman
"The Robber Bridegroom" is a revival of a 1975 musical, based on a Eudora Welty novella, with a book and lyrics by Alfred Uhry and music by Robert Waldman. The fairy tale plot involves Rosamund, the daughter of a rich plantation owner, who travels into the woods where she meets the roguish title character. The girl has a nasty but very funny gold-toothed stepmother. The music is lively and the seductive rogue is played by the charismatic and powerful voiced Steven Pasquale (the polar opposite of his part as the racist cop Mark Fuhrman in the OJ Simpson series). The scene stealer is Leslie Kritzer as the evil stepmother. The lively choreography by Connor Gallagher is another plus. Director Alex Timbers first achieved fame for "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson," but "The Robber Bridegroom" gave me more pleasure.
"Bright Star" is a bluegrass musical with music, lyrics and story by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell with a book by Martin. The plot involves a poor girl falling in love with a rich boy, who impregnates her. There is another story taking place many years later when she is a literary editor and discovers a talented young southern writer. At the end, the two plots converge into a happy ending. Though there are witty lines here and there, the book is surprisingly stodgy for the formerly "wild and crazy" guy. Fortunately, the show is filled with delightful songs and Carmen Cusack, making her Broadway debut in the starring role of Alice Murphy, is wonderful. This show leaves the audience feeling good.
I caught one of the last performances of "Southern Comfort," the bluegrass musical based on Kate Davis' documentary film. The Public Theater continues its practice of putting on innovative musicals that touch the heart, like "Fun Home" and "Caroline, or Change." I don't know if this one will make the move to Broadway but it deserves to. "Southern Comfort" deals with a group of transgender friends in rural Georgia, contending with community hostility and their own personal issues. Annette O'Toole (the hottie of 70's films such as "The Cat People" and "Smile") portrays Robert Eads, who was born Barbara but has become a man, complete with facial hair. She is convincing and is also an excellent singer. The musical, with book and lyrics by Dan Collins and music by Julianne Wick Davis, was directed by Thomas Caruso (who conceived the show with Robert DuSold). They and the cast all merit accolades.
For a musical with a completely different style of music, check out the deliriously funny "Disaster!" This is a take-off on such tacky Hollywood movies as "The Poseidon Adventure" and "Earthquake." It's hard to satirize something that's already pretty silly, but "Disaster!" manages. The production is helped by a top-flight cast: Adam Pascal and Kerry Butler are ex-lovers, Roger Bart is the sleazy owner of the doomed cruise ship, and Rachel York is his clueless girlfriend. Her twin son and daughter are cleverly played by Baylee Littrel, Faith Prince and Kevin Chamberlin are a prickly couple, Seth Rudetsky is the scientist no one listens to—he also wrote the script with director Jack Plotnick—and, best of all, Jennifer Simard is a nun with a gambling addiction. The songs are all pop hits from the 1970's.


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Where Really Does Customer Care Start and End?
One thing to inquire about caring for customers is what does it actually mean in the first place. In addition, where does it commence as well as exactly where will it finish? Can it be just about taking care of the consumer when they're at the shop or place of business?
One thing to discuss is what customer care means in terms of the market that you will be in. It could be very different, for example, for a beauty and hair salon compared to for an electronic devices merchant. Even though you always care about the customers' emotions, your obligation if you are a beauty salon owner, truly ends after the consumer leaves your store, happy with the way in which she looks. If you don't experience a problem for example hair falling out, fingernails breaking or something like that, it's not as if you need to bother about that client right up until they come back the next time.
In the case of the actual electronic devices retailer, you've got a responsibility to the customer since the things that they will bought may end up getting defective. In addition, the customer can come back after getting one thing to find other items which they want as a result of that original purchase. For example, after somebody will buy any mobile computer, they could get back to purchase a cellular mouse, a laptop bag, or perhaps software to perform using the PC. In that case, developing a relationship is vital, and provides smaller businesses a benefit over larger types that observe a large number of customers per hour, all day long.
The important part of customer care is always to ensure that clients notice that. You can significantly enjoy your visitors, but if they aren't shown that appreciation, it might not even be considered a actuality to them. You can present your appreciation in several ways, from reduced prices for devoted customers to some simple "thank you" or providing them with your undivided attention. It does not will have to become monetary compensation.
More Info Here Cutomer Service Suppor


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Water Strider Art
June 02, 2014
Photographer: Tommy Hornbeck
Summary Author: Tommy Hornbeck
A Gerridae with a penchant for physics demonstrates a two-point source interference pattern on a fluid surface. Gerridae are commonly called names such as water striders, water skeeters, water bugs and Jesus bugs because of their ability to walk on water. They're covered with hydrophobic micro hairs, repelling water, thus preventing them from being weighed down by splashed water droplets. Their two front legs capture and hold prey; the second pair propel the strider over the water as oars, while the third pair act as rudders. Their water-walking skills are made possible by the surface tension of water molecules that have a greater attraction to one another than to the molecules of the air, giving the water, in effect, an elastic membrane upon which the Gerridae walk. The strider's forward walking motion sets up twin circular, traveling waves on the water's surface which expand and meet. Where they meet, the peaks and troughs (anti-nodes) create the lovely interference pattern shown above. Photo taken on a pond in western Missouri on May 2, 2014.


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Team USA peppered Sean Romeo with shots Thursday night, Jan. 31 but the Youngstown Phantoms goaltender was more than up to task. Unfortunately, the Phantoms struggled to capitalize on chances at the other end and, despite a third-period push, fell to the U.S. National Under-18 team, 3-2.
Romeo finished the night with 41 saves off 44 shots and turned away a penalty shot as well, but was saddled with the loss. Assistant captain Sam Anas remained red-hot netting his eighth goal in the last six games, and Markus McCrea also scored as the Phantoms (19-18-0, 38 points) dropped the opener for their three-game road swing.
"The bottom line is that team is going to get shots," head coach Anthony Noreen said. "I thought we did a good job of keeping them to the outside for the most part, and we had our chances. We stuck to our process but that's as good a team as you'll see in this league."
Team USA (10-23-4, 24 points) came out of the gates flying started racking up shots, but the Youngstown did an excellent job of limiting high-quality chances. Whenever he was needed, Romeo stepped up with the save and finished
The National Team finally beat Romeo on a power play 12 minutes into the second period. Michael McCarron got around the Phantoms defense and left a pass in the slot as Gage Ausmus came crashing in from the point. He was able to corral the puck and fire it high to put USA up 1-0.
Anthony Louis had two golden chances to put the National Team up two in the final minute of the second. With just 30 seconds remaining he poked a puck free at the point and went racing in alone on goal. Just between the circles he tried to cut across the slot and stuff the puck five-hole, but Romeo turned him away.
However, Ryan Lowney was whistled for a chop he got in just before Louis got the shot off and the referee awarded him a penalty shot. Romeo came out to the top of his crease to challenge the shooter, took away the angle and forced Louis to fire his into the end boards.
"Sean was a rock back there. We've almost just gotten used to it," Noreen said. "He made some great saves that probably should've gone in and kept us in early and when we started to turn around he gave us every chance in the world to win."
With just five seconds remaining in the period, Connor Clifton made a run at John Padulo after the Phantoms winger had been whistled for a penalty and it nearly ignited a line brawl. Clifton, who had already been penalized twice earlier in the game, was called for a roughing double-minor and misconduct penalty, which would carry over into the third period.
The Phantoms opened the final frame on the man-advantage and wasted little time capitalizing. Nathan Walker dug a puck out of the corner and passed it up to Austin Cangelosi at the top of the circles. The Boston College commit in turn handed it off to Anas at the left dot and he hammered in a one-timer to tie the game up just 29 seconds into the final period.
Cangelosi had a chance to put the Phantoms in front on a partial breakaway eight minutes later, but he was turned away with a kick save from Hunter Miska. USA quickly gathered the rebound and pushed the play back up ice with numbers. Louis came down the left side and tried to thread a pass across the crease, but the puck caught a Phantoms' defenseman's skate a ricocheted past Romeo to put the National Team up 2-1.
USA stretched it to 3-1 just three minutes later when Kevin Labanc found Tyler Motte by himself in the slot and he one-touched it into the net. With the Phantoms reeling, McCarron challenged defenseman Dan Renouf and he was more than happy to oblige. The pride of Pickering, Ontario landed a few right hooks before tossing the 6-foot-5, 225-pound McCarron to the ice to reignite the Youngstown bench.
"Danny's fought pretty much all of the tough guys in the league and he's held his own," Noreen said. "There wasn't a guy on our bench that was sitting after that. We definitely fed off of it."
It took less than two minutes for McCrea to bring the Phantoms back within a goal. Luke Stork cleared a puck out from his corner and Alexander Dahl stretched out and got a stick on it, deflecting it into the boards and bouncing right back out for McCrea at center ice. The burly winger settled the puck, skated into the zone, picked out the top right corner and sniped it to make it a 3-2 game with 5:28 remaining.
That, however, was as close as they would come to evening the score. Team USA was able to kill off enough time on the clock to limit Youngstown's window to pull Romeo for the extra attacker. When the Phantoms finally did, they were not able to put the puck past Miska, who earned his third win of the season.


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Come walk the grounds where President James Madison drew his first breath. Take in the grounds where James Madison's mother, Eleanor Rose "Nelly" Conway Madison was born, grew up and returned to have James. Walk through the mansion that Union soldiers forced a family from to take it as a Union Headquarters. Stand in the bowling green where Union soldiers set up camp. View where John Wilkes Booth rode the ferry across the Rappahannock River on the way to Garrett's Farm. Learn about the Union detachment pursuing John Wilkes Booth stopping to rest, eat and sleep at the plantation. Stand in the Grand Hallway where one of those officers slept.
As you walk through Belle Grove Plantation's mansion, you will feel instantly transported back with our period antiques. Each room is filled with antiques that reflect a time in the history of this grand Southern plantation.
Our collection was started in April 2013 and has continued to grow. From pieces that were found in antique shopping trips to antique auction, each piece tells us a story of the past. Our collection include very special donated pieces from individuals who wish their pieces to be a part of this very grand landmark. Each of these donated pieces from our candelabras in the parlor to the pewter chess set in the library have come to us with very unique stories that will live on as part of Belle Grove Plantation.
Wednesday – Sunday 1:00pm to 4:00pm
No reservation required. Last Tour starts at 3:30pm
Our tours are a guided 45 minutes to 1 hour tour through the mansion. All rooms are open with the exception of those that are occupied by overnight guests or event spaces during that time. Grounds are open for self guided viewing with restrictions on the Caretakers home.
$15.00 – Adults
$10.00 – Children under 12
Free – Children under 4
Unable to make it during our tour hours? Call and schedule a private tour!
While we understand that not all can come during our tour hours, we do offer a private tour option when date and time is available. Private tours require at least 5 people and must be schedule ahead of time.
Adults – $30
Children – $20
We are sorry, but we do not offer discounts on Private Tours
Tickets are sold at the mansion. They may be purchased with a credit card or by exact cash. We do not maintain cash in the mansion.
While Belle Grove Plantation is a historic site and bed and breakfast, the mansion is also a private residence. We do not allow individuals to enter and wander around the mansion unaccompanied. The grounds are open only during tour hours. We would love to have you come and visit, but please respect our home and hours.
Belle Grove Plantation does strive to provide the best possible accessibility to the mansion and grounds to meet our visitors' diverse abilities and needs. However tours at Belle Grove Plantation do involve a fair amount of standing, walking, and stairs. Chairs are provided within rooms for those that can not stand.
In 2011, we started our research of the history that is Belle Grove Plantation. It was our goal to uncover as much of the past as possible. To discover, to recover and to continue to tell the story. To us, all parts of this history is important. Each worked hand in hand in making Belle Grove Plantation what it is today.
One of the questions we get quite often is did Belle Grove Plantation have slaves? Through our research, we have uncovered names of slaves in wills and death records as well as through the Federal Census. In the Federal Census of 1840, owner Carolinus Turner showed 57 slaves. In the Federal Census of 1850, he had 72 and in the Federal Census of 1860, just before the Civil War, he had 92. The oldest slave we have been able to uncover was a female slave who was 80 years old.
We have made "connection" with the slaves of Montpelier, James Madison's home in Orange, Virginia. Three slaves, Anthony, William "Billy" Gardener and Suny were known to have come from Belle Grove to Montpelier. Looking at President Madison's grandmother, Rebecca Catlett Conway Moore's will in 1761, she gave James Madison, age 10 a choice of five slaves.
Now, you can come and hear about one of our darkest times in Belle Grove Plantation's history. Our Enslaved Experience and History Tour will cover not only our known history of our Belle Grove Plantation's Enslaved Community, but will take you on a historic tour of the experiences that slaves endured during this time in American History. See artifacts, both from other areas as well as Belle Grove Plantation with known slave connections. Learn about how Africans changed the way we ate with foods and cooking techniques they brought with them.
We would like to caution you before you select this two hour tour. The subject matter can be graphic at times and is not recommended for the young or easily offended. Please consider carefully before booking your reservation.
Enslaved Experience and History Tour
Two Hour Tour conducted Wednesday to Sunday at 2pm each day.
Reservation Required. Purchase Tickets Online Below
Cost – $15
Is Belle Grove Plantation Haunted?
Many people and paranormal teams have tried to answer this question. Even the SyFy Channel's Ghost Hunters has investigated. All that come away have the same answer . . . there is definitely something there.
We have seen apparitions. We have heard voices and sounds. We have seen a ball of light in broad daylight! We have photographs that just can't be explained.
Now we are challenging you to find out for yourself!
Come join us as we discuss past experiences, share photographs, videos and EVPS (electronic voice phenomenon) and do our own paranormal investigation of the grounds.
Unlike most Ghost Walking Tours, we don't just tell ghost stories. We go looking for evidence of our ghostly residents using paranormal investigative equipment. Our tour guides are a professional paranormal team, Fredericksburg Paranormal and Research Investigation. With years of experience investigating haunted location, they will guide you in learning how to investigate correctly and how to interpret results.
For more information on Fredericksburg Paranormal and Research Investigation please visit their website and Facebook page.
IMPORTANT! – Reservations need to be received by 3pm the day of the requested ghost tour. Any reservation requests received after 3pm the day of the tour, the reservation will not be scheduled. These are a paranormal investigation, not a history tour.
Rates – $25.00 per person
1.5 Hour Tour conducted Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 9pm to 10:30pm.
Parking is free and available on the left side driveway along the tree line.
Please email us at email@example.com or call 540-621-7340
Belle Grove Plantation Mansion and Grounds Tours will be closed in for the following dates due to Private Events or Holidays.
Saturday, August 1st (Steel Magnolia Tea and private event)
Saturday, August 8th (Private Event)
Saturday, August 22nd (Tea with Elvis)
Belle Grove Plantation will reopen on the next normal tour date. Private Events can be adding at anytime. Please visit our Tea page for Afternoon Tea dates not available. Please check our website before you come to visit for any updated dates. Thank you.
James Madison, George Washington and many more have walked these grounds. From the beginning history of America, Belle Grove Plantation has stood witness to it all. Touched by colonial expansion from Europe and by Civil War, Belle Grove Plantation has played a part in the creation of a nation.
Belle Grove Plantation offers group tours for 20 or less people.
$10.00 – for groups of 10 or more (minimum – 10)
Luncheons are available for an additional charge. Cost is determined by the catered menu.
Please email us at firstname.lastname@example.com to schedule you group tour and to discuss luncheon options. We ask for at least two weeks advance reservations for groups.
Sharing the history of Belle Grove Plantation with students helps a new generation to come to understand what life was like at Belle Grove Plantation.
At this time, we are working on creating a program to offer a view into the life on a Southern Plantation.
We hope to offer this soon.


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MidAmerica Nazarene University
Olathe, KS
The school continues to proactively seek opportunities to enhance diversity because its leaders are convinced that doing so adds a depth and richness to the program and brings in highly talented students.
Grant Years:
Degrees Conferred:BSN
Scholarships Awarded:50
Round 2: 2009 – 2010
Dene Beck
Melissa Garza
Rose Gikonyo
Stephen Hopkins
Molly Jacobsen
Corrie Kangas
Emily Kangogo
Macoloe Mayweather
Zachary Phillips
Kamille Ratzlaff
Round 3: 2010 – 2011
Cicilia Ariga
Brian Bishop
WeePoh Chieu
Ramanpreet Kaur
Everlyne Milimo
Rachel Molina
Robert Munyan
Jeyla Sneed
Michael Vu
Patrick Wambugu
Round 4: 2011 – 2012
Matthew Adams
Alan Keller
Ashley Lanning
Binny Varghese
Giang Vu
Round 5: 2012 – 2013
Shannon Cross
Linh Huynh
Jon Jones
Taylor Lewis
Alexandra Pierce
Daniel Schuckman
Maria Stanley
Round 6: 2013 – 2014
Lauren Goh
Justin Johng
Aaron Kemmling
Jonathan Knipker
Allison Mitchell
Vanessa Schulte
Paden Shaffer
Matthew Tucker
Wesley White
Round 7: 2014 – 2015
Kyle Adams
Fredrick Anari
Sara Corazzin
Jessica DwyerNatasha Regis
NCIN enabled the MidAmerica Nazarene University School of Nursing and Health Science to recruit and retain more students from under-represented backgrounds in nursing. One NCIN scholar was a refugee who escaped the war-torn streets of Vietnam on a wooden fishing boat. The school implemented a comprehensive marketing strategy to enhance the diversity of its student body; it included advertisements and stories about the program in magazines, newsletters, and online publications, and on bill-boards. Still, word-of-mouth referrals continue to be the most effective recruitment tool. In later grant years, the school used student input to enhance the NCIN program and hired a faculty member dedicated to overseeing it.


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Allegorithmic Substance Painter 126.96.36.1991 MacOSX | 1.08 GB
Substance Painter is a 3D Painting app with never before seen features and workflow improvements to make the creation of textures for 3D assets easier than ever. It is acknowledged as the most innovative and user-friendly 3D Painter out there.
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Use a complete and familiar set of texturing tools: PBR and particle painting, Substance procedural effects, smart materials and smart masks, and fast baking.
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Render directly with NVIDIA Iray and enhance your images with Yebis post-process effects.
Toggle the viewport in new fullscreen mode for an immersive painting experience.
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Use and reuse presets and integrated bakers to speed up texturing.
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Create and reuse your own mesh-adaptive materials
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AO / normal map / etc.
New features in Allegorithmic Substance Painter 2:
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New content in the shelf: alphas, tools, materials, smart materials, and more
New interface with reworked colors, icons, and parameter organization
New Orthographic view mode and Perspective Field of View control
New Fullscreen mode with interface toggling
Support for the Specular/Glossiness PBR workflow
Requirements: Mac OSX 10.7+
Home Page - https://www.allegorithmic.com


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A White Rock man believes he may be the "Sasquatch" caught on a viral video filmed by wildlife biologist Myles Lamont while hiking Tricouni Peak in the Tantalus mountain range near Squamish, B.C. more than two years ago.
The video shows a black dot of a figure apparently moving up the slope of a snow-covered mountain in a remote area of the mountain range.
Lamont, who estimated his altitude at 7,000 feet, got thousands of YouTube hits after he posted the video and it went viral.
In the video Lamont wonders why a human would walk up the side of a mountain "in the middle of nowhere" without a backpack or gear.
Since he posted it last month, the video has had more than a million views. And even though it was shot more than two years ago, the wildlife biologist is still wondering today what it was he saw.
"What we saw was not wearing any gear and no snowshoes and covering ground very quickly," he said.
"I'm familiar with bears and other wildlife and seeing other backpacks in the bush and this was not quite like any of those, so it was a bit different."
Ridgewalker Pete hikes solo
Enter Peter Tennant, aka, 'Ridgewalker Pete.' The 56-year-old White Rock, B.C., resident believes his admittedly odd hobby of walking by himself across remote B.C. mountainsides put him in the crosshairs of Lamont's lens.
Tennant says he does a lot of solo hiking, shoots pictures and video of his walks, then sets them to music. Crucially, he says he was on Tricouni Peak in July 2011, the same month Lamont shot his video.
Tennant says he ran across the Sasquatch story on the CBC website and recognized the valley as the same one he'd been exploring that July.
"[Lamont] did this little pan [around in the video] and I started laughing because I recognized that valley," said Tennant.
"That's where I was walking all around. And then I looked more, and then I stopped and looked in my hiking notes, and I realized, Tricouni Mountain, 2011. I think that was me."
Mystery solved...or is it?
Tennant recalls he was doing little day hikes on his week-long walkabout on the mountain.
"There was a huge amount of snow left over from the winter that year and I was shocked," he said. "Even though it was summertime down in the valley, up high it sort of felt like winter."
"I was by myself and I wasn't really set up for avalanche stuff so I decided to just stay in the sort of higher elevation but not go up to the peak."
Tennant says he didn't have a backpack or snowshoes, but did have an emergency locator. "The snow had melted on the surface so I was just walking on top of the snow."
But Lamont's not buying it. He says to be that high up with no backpack or snowshoes is "bizarre."
'Ridgewalker Pete' says his hiking diary confirms he was on Tricouni Mountain the last week of July.
Mystery solved...until we asked Lamont, the wildlife biologist who shot the video, "When were you on Tricouni Peak?"
"We were there July 2," he said.
And that's at least three weeks before 'Ridgewalker Pete'.


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Are you a day care provider considering incorporating your business for increased liability protection? If so, please review the following two-part discussion of this topic by Tom Copeland. Once you do, I think you see that the increased costs to you, and especially the loss of your home-related expenses as a deduction on Form 8829, Expenses for Business Use of Your Home, are huge drawbacks. If you decide to proceed with incorporation, get the advice of a tax professional and a legal professional well versed in the business of family child care. Note that I do not recommend setting up a family child care business as a partnership either.
A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is another business entity available to child care providers, though the amount of such additional liability protection provided by an LLC is unclear, as Tom explains below. Still, I believe an LLC is a better and simpler option than incorporating, as long as it's set up to have only a single member. Do not make your spouse or anyone else a member. That way you can remain a sole proprietor for income tax purposes.
Spouses looking for the best way to operate a home child care together will find that it is cheapest and simplest to have one spouse act as the owner and hire the other spouse. This arrangement may even make it possible to deduct your entire family's medical costs as a business expense by setting up a medical reimbursement plan as an employee benefit.
For a more recent discussion of incorporation, see Tom Copeland's article entitled Should You Incorporate Your Family Child Care Business?
August 2007
Tom Copeland Article Part 1:
I attended a roundtable meeting this week sponsored by the IRS and spoke with an attorney who assists with businesses who want to incorporate. He told me that all family child care providers should be incorporated, a sentiment that I have heard repeated by other attorneys.
Is this good advice?
Providers do get some personal liability protection if they incorporate, but incorporation does not protect business assets. In a typical situation, a provider might have a Time-Space Percentage of 40%, which means that 40% of their home is not protected if they incorporate. (The same would go for all household furniture and appliances.) When I pointed this out, the lawyer responded that a provider could have their corporation pay the provider rent and thus shield their home from a lawsuit.
This answer brings up a problem I see in the general discussion of whether or not it makes sense for a provider to incorporate. Lawyers understand the legal implications of incorporating, but not necessarily the tax consequences. Tax professionals understand the tax consequences of incorporating, but not necessarily the legal issues.
In this case, the lawyer doesn't realize that it will cost the provider more money if her corporation pays her rent. Let's look at an example.
Let's say that a provider who is a sole proprietor has $30,000 of Schedule C income and $15,000 of Schedule C deductions (food, toys, supplies, etc.). She is also entitled to deduct $5,000 of house related expenses on her Form 8829. Her total business expenses are therefore $20,000, and her Schedule C profit is $10,000. If she is in the 30% tax bracket (15% federal income tax and 15% Social Security tax), her taxes are $3,000 and her take home pay is $7,000.
Now, what happens if she incorporates and the corporation pays $5,000 rent to her and deducts this rent as a business expense? The corporation still has $20,000 of expenses, and if all the profit is reported by the provider as income, the provider still ends up with $7,000 at the end of the year. But now she must report $5,000 as income on Schedule E and pay 15% federal income tax (or $750) on this amount. So it has cost the provider $750 to pay herself rent.
Note: The provider can't claim any home office deductions as an employee of the corporation if she is not using any rooms on an "exclusive" basis for her landlord business. Only family child care providers can use the "regular use" test when deducting expenses for using their home in a business. If the provider was using one or more rooms in her home exclusively for her business, then she would be limited to deducting only the business portion of her mortgage interest and property taxes. Such home office expenses would be taken as a miscellaneous itemized deduction on Schedule A. [Note from Alison: Tom admits this is incorrect in Part Two below. Even home-related expenses for exclusive-use rooms are lost.]
In this example, we have left out the possible tax benefits of incorporating and shielding some of the income from Social Security taxes. But these tax benefits are not automatic and carry with them their own costs (higher tax preparation fees for a corporation). Incorporating also carries other costs (fees to incorporate, possible annual corporate fees, workers' compensation, etc.).
In summary, whether to incorporate or not is a complicated question that needs the input from both a lawyer and a tax professional.
September 2007
Tom Copeland Article Part 2:
Following my last month's email update on incorporation, I received several comments from tax professionals that I want to respond to:
Tom Jemison, an Enrolled Agent in California, wrote, "I think the home office deductions are even worse than what you spelled out. If an employer (the corporation) pays rent for a portion of an employee's (provider's) residence, the employee is not allowed the corresponding deduction for business use of the home - period [IRC 280(A)(c)(6)]. That means not even for an exclusive use area. This comes up a lot for small non-provider corps."
This is true, and my previous email was not accurate on this point. When an employee rents her home to her employer, the employee (family child care provider) cannot claim any home office deduction on Schedule E (or Form 8829), even if the provider is using one or more rooms in her home exclusively for business. The homeowner can still claim mortgage interest and property taxes on Schedule A. The only time a person can claim home office expenses on Schedule E is when the homeowner is renting her home to someone who is not her employer.
Tom also pointed out that there is a tax benefit for a C-Corporation paying rent to a family child care provider employee. Although there is no home office deduction benefit, there is the tax benefit of moving income to a Schedule E where no payroll taxes are paid. This benefit may be offset some by the lower Social Security earnings for a provider.
Several tax professionals commented that family child care providers could set up a single person LLC (Limited Liability Company) to reduce their personal liability. The advantages of an LLC are that the provider can still file Form 8829 and claim all of the regular home office expenses in the same way that a sole proprietor can. In fact, the tax return of a single person LLC looks no different than a sole proprietor. Therefore, there would be no need for the corporation to pay rent to the provider.
However, although it's probably the least complicated of all corporation entities, there are some drawbacks of a single person LLC. Most states charge annual fees for an LLC; a lawyer should be consulted to set up an LLC properly; the business formalities of an LLC must be followed; and business and personal records must be kept separate.
The biggest benefit of an LLC is the potential for additional personal liability protection. After consulting with other lawyers on this point, I am somewhat skeptical that this is true to the extent that providers may think. The LLC is a relatively new business entity, and we don't have much in the way of court rulings to determine how well it will protect the owner. The part of the home that is used for business purposes would not be protected from a lawsuit; the same is true for furniture and appliances used in the business. Because many providers struggle to keep business records in a professional manner, I am also concerned that those who form an LLC would fail to follow all of the record keeping requirements of an LLC and therefore would risk losing the corporate protection in a lawsuit.
My advice is for providers to purchase a lot of professional business liability insurance (at least $1 million per occurrence and $2 million aggregate). Although an LLC may indeed provide some additional personal liability protection, I don't believe it is a simple solution to this problem.
Last updated: 26 September 2011
Posted on 2007-09-28 20:47:43


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Hurray, it has taken me nearly a year to do but it is finally completely finished, although not to the size it was originally designed to be. I am really pleased that I have made this quilt, it took me out of my comfort zone by forcing me to work with pastel colours and floral fabric both of which are not in my usual range (this choice was my own, I decided to work with these parameters). I just hope the recipient loves it as much as I do.
Would I follow a pattern from Kaffe Fassett again? Hmmm……..probably not, but what I would do, would be to read the pattern through thoroughly then work out how I would put it together rather than follow the instructions given.
Will I re-create this quilt in the future? ……….. Maybe because I like the idea of framing a larger scale pattern within the smaller scale print framing fabrics.
Would I use striped fabric again?…… Yes, of course but with thought this time rather than doing as I was told! I'm not sure I like the higgledy piggledy way the stripes lay within the borders. I don't know whether I would piece the borders again either, I think I would applique the on-point squares to the sashing fabrics for speed rather than anything else.
If I'd had more time, this is a present for a really lovely, bubbly person, I would have quilted by hand around the blooms within the frames to give them more definition.
The back was made from all the little left over bits and the sashing fabric, I did enjoy making the back and although the fabrics are pastel they do have a vibrancy that I hadn't expected!
Will I use pastels again?…….. Yes, certainly.
Will I use floral fabrics again?………..Hmmm………Perhaps, but they would have to be really special or different from the normal. Stylised floral, yes definitely.
I really enjoyed the workshop at the Festival of Quilts last Year, where this quilt was started. As I probably said at the time, it was amazing to see how many different interpretations of the same pattern came be produced just by using fabrics chosen by personal choice, rather than slavishly following the design.


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by Susan Lyon
As they say in poker, it ain't over 'til the last hand is dealt. Such is the case, too, for the 2012 election. The polling may be very close in key battleground states, but Romney's statistical odds of winning are at just 20% as we head into the final days before the election. Most analysts predict an Obama win.
The question remains: what combinations of swing state would Romney need to pull off to win the White House? NerdWallet's Presidential Poker Swing States infographic breaks down the combinations of undecided swing states that, if called for Romney on election night, could deliver him just enough electoral votes to win the election:
Romney will have to make it to 270 electoral votes in order to win. Why 270? This is the number of electoral votes – out of 538 total votes in the Electoral College – that either candidate will need to win the Presidency.
As of the most recent polling information, Romney is assumed to have about 206 safe votes, while Obama has 253 safe votes. This means that to get to 270, Romney would realistically need to get at least 64 additional electoral votes to win. This is out of the 79 up-for-grabs votes on the table – votes not yet assumed to be "safe" for either Obama or Romney.
Romney's winning equation is:
206 (safe votes) + at least 64 (swing votes) = 270 (total votes needed to win)
It comes down to 4 critical combinations of these key swing states that could get him at least 64 more votes, laid out in the infographic as the "winning hands" Romney would need one of:
- Florida (29 electoral votes)
- Ohio (18)
- Virginia (13)
- Colorado (9)
- Iowa (6)
- New Hampshire (4)
Whether Romney wins or Obama does, Presidential Poker will end up looking a lot like the card game either way: winner takes all!
About NerdWallet's Election Prediction Model:
The statistical odds change slightly every day as we incorporate new polling data coming in from crucial swing states into our election prediction model. Check back daily up until election night for new polling updates.


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February 2105's NY Tech Meetup saw the release of UNDERLINE.js, an effort nobly dedicated to creating the perfect underline. After mastering this feat, a new focus emerged. Programmers began fashioning interactive underlines that push the boundary of web typography, transmuting them, for example, into interactive guitar strings tuned to "twelfth night" notes. Go play! -->
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Twelfth Night re-composed by Underline.js
Posted by NewYorkLook at 8:49 AM
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Identity management addresses the difficulties encountered when one physical user has separate user IDs and passwords on multiple systems and applications. Access management addresses the challenges associated with the specific access rights and permissions of multiple user IDs.
Large, complex organizations have the greatest potential to benefit from software-based IAM. Smaller organizations may find that performing an IAM readiness review could generate policy and process improvements that would facilitate initiatives that would allow the organization to realize benefits without implementing new software.
Internal control and corporate governance are the primary drivers of IAM solution implementations. Benefits include centralized monitoring, detection of policy exceptions and segregation of duties. Other considerations include controlling access to centralized IAM, defining and tuning rules, and integrating the IAM solution with the organization's current internal control environment.
The ideal IAM solution must effectively manage the life cycle, which runs from the creation, change and, ultimately, to the deletion of a user's multiple user IDs and associated permissions.
Integrators should be measured on cost, functionality, track record, their expertise with existing systems, and their ability to scale with you as your business changes.
Readiness criteria and maintenance should be determined prior to implementation.
Bryce H. Peterson, CISA, is a manager and Paul Smedegaard is a senior manager in KPMG's IT Advisory Services practice in Phoenix. William G. Heninger, CPA, Ph.D., and Marshall B. Romney, CPA, Ph.D., CFE, are on the faculty of Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. Their e-mail addresses are, respectively, firstname.lastname@example.com, email@example.com, email@example.com and firstname.lastname@example.com.
Imagine that you're on the golf course, one of your clones is at work, and the other clone is preparing dinner. It sounds like a perfect scenario until the clone at work gets fired and the other clone burns down your house. Just as managing multiple physical identities would present challenges and expose you to greater risk, managing or auditing multiple logical identities, like user IDs, passwords, and permissions on various systems, poses a formidable challenge and greatly increases risk exposure. This is where identity and access management (IAM) comes in.
Identity management addresses the difficulties encountered when one physical user has separate user IDs and passwords on multiple systems and applications. Access management addresses the challenges associated with the specific access rights and permissions of multiple user IDs. Identity and access management becomes more burdensome as the size and complexity of the company grows. This article focuses on the benefits, risks, leading practices and audit considerations of both identity and access management.
Generally, the larger and more complex your organization, the greater the potential benefit that would be derived from software-based IAM. Alternatively, smaller and less complex organizations may find that simply performing an IAM readiness review could generate policy and process improvements that would facilitate compliance and information security initiatives that would allow the organization to realize benefits without implementing new software.
Policy and process improvements include user ID naming conventions; process work instructions that clearly detail steps for user administration functions; defined segregation of duties policies; and user ID reviews that focus on higher risk systems. Standard cost/benefit models can be used to generate a realistic IAM business case as long as the model adequately considers implementation risks and a thorough analysis of a company's unique business circumstances.
Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley section 404 requirements for internal control over financial reporting is one of the primary drivers of IAM software implementations. The following are key benefits and considerations from an internal and external audit perspective:
n Centralized monitoring. IAM software provides the ability to centrally manage and monitor user IDs and access permissions based on pre-defined rules. This allows auditors to inspect IAM configurations and rules to gain comfort with the user administration controls for multiple systems.
n Detect policy exceptions. As IAM tools continually monitor linked systems, if a user ID is provisioned—created and access assigned—on a system without being first provisioned in the IAM tool, an alert will be sent to the IAM process owner. This allows the auditor to gain comfort that a detective control is in place to monitor potential policy violations, often called control workarounds.
n Segregation of duties (SoD). A common system access deficiency identified during compliance audits is a lack of, or inconsistent enforcement of, segregating conflicting functions (for example, the ability to modify vendor records, post invoices, and cut checks in the procure-topay business process). Because this control deficiency can be considered pervasive and creates a higher risk of fraud, many organizations have implemented SoD analysis tools, such as Approva's BizRights or SAP's GRC, and link these tools with their IAM software to identify potential SoD issues at the beginning of the user ID life cycle.
n Keys to the kingdom. Because IAM software has ultimate control of the parent user ID, users with access to the IAM software essentially control the "keys to the kingdom." Therefore, organizations should restrict access to the IAM tool to a limited number of people and implement monitoring controls (for example, logging or automated event alerts) over such users to prevent or detect any inappropriate use of their extensive access.
n Rule definition and tuning. An IAM software tool is only as effective and precise as the underlying rules that drive the user ID life cycle and alert functionality. During implementation, both internal and external auditors should be engaged to review the designed rule set for appropriateness, so that the solution can be relied upon from initial go-live. Furthermore, as rules are refined, appropriate documentation should be retained to demonstrate that the rule changes were initiated, certified and implemented according to existing change management policies.
n Internal control integration. Because the IAM solution will be part of the internal control environment, consideration should be given during the initial implementation to integrating the various IAM controls into the standard portfolio of internal controls and the associated control management processes, such as control modification, consolidation and continual improvement.
While a variety of IAM tools and solutions exist, the ideal solution must effectively manage the life cycle, which runs from the creation, change and, ultimately, to the deletion of a user's multiple user IDs and associated permissions (see Exhibit 1).
When evaluating potential IAM solutions, requiring the IAM vendor to actually demonstrate its product's functionality for the user ID life cycle allows a more objective decision among potential solutions (see Exhibit 1). The three stages of the user ID life cycle are discussed further below.
1. Create. When a user joins an organization and requires access to system resources, the typical process includes submitting an approved request to the Information Technology (IT) group to provision— create and assign permissions to— a user ID. However, when multiple platforms (such as Windows, UNIX, and IBM mainframe) and applications (such as SAP, Oracle, Web portals, and custom applications) exist, provisioning a user ID becomes complicated. For example, should the user ID on Windows be "bpeterson" while the user ID on SAP is "S145692" and the user ID on Oracle is "bhp"?
Ideally and logically, a company would attempt to strictly enforce consistency in the naming convention across all systems and applications, but the reality of acquisition and technological limitations (for example, if user IDs can only be three characters long on a custom application) often prevent achieving that ideal. When using an IAM tool, the IT group can create the user ID using the IAM solution, which will then create user IDs and permissions across the other required systems and applications according to the various formats on those systems. This can be done either automatically or by sending a notice to an administrator if technology or process restrictions prevent full automation.
These multiple user IDs will be controlled by the parent user ID on the IAM tool. This can be done even if the user ID on one system is "bheninger" and the user ID on another application is "heningerb." And any change made to the parent ID will be cascaded to each of the other associated user IDs. Clearly, if business policies or technology limitations prevent full automation and integration among the IAM software and the linked platforms and applications, the expected overall efficiency gains for the IAM software would be reduced.
2. Change. Likely the most difficult aspect of managing multiple logical identities (user IDs) is enforcing the consistency of a change—simple or complex— across all affected platforms and applications. Effective IAM tools will automatically enforce and synchronize any change across the affected systems and applications once the change is made to the parent ID. Such a change would be necessary when a user's last name is changed after marriage, for example.
Furthermore, the IAM tool can manage the transfer of a user's identity when that user's relationship to the organization changes. For example, many companies hire outside contractors to support various projects and then decide to make the contractor a permanent employee. Without an IAM solution in place, the conversion process might include removing the contractor's multiple user accounts and associated permissions and then re-creating the same accounts with enhanced permissions as permanent employee accounts. An IAM solution could simplify the conversion to only modifying a few attributes in the parent user ID (for example, the employee status and employee ID) and adding the additional required access permissions that would be automatically replicated to the other associated IDs.
3. Delete. Common exceptions or deficiencies identified during user account reviews include generic, outdated, stale or orphaned user IDs. Generic user IDs are accounts that are shared by more than one user and have no specific accountability. Outdated user IDs are accounts with permissions that are no longer relevant based on organization or role changes. Stale user IDs are accounts that have not been used for a long time (and prompt questions about the need for a user ID), while orphaned user IDs are accounts that remain on systems or applications after a user has been terminated and the network (for example, Windows) user ID has been deleted or disabled. IAM solutions can be used to warn against or even prevent generic, outdated, stale and orphaned user IDs.
Because the parent user ID in the IAM solution controls the user IDs defined in the other linked systems and applications, a rule can be created to flag generic IDs; and modifying or deleting the parent ID would update, delete or disable (either automatically or via sending a notice to an administrator) the other associated user IDs. Again, if the linked systems are not correctly interfaced or if the cascading rules are not correctly defined, the management of these troublesome user IDs could be compounded rather than simplified.
Because implementing an IAM system comes with significant costs, choosing the right IAM vendor and integrator is critical.
In 2006, the overall size of the global IAM market, including software license and related implementation service fees, was about $2.6 billion. Forrester Research predicts the IAM market will grow to $12.3 billion by 2014.
Major IAM software vendors include Avatier, BMC Software, Beta Systems, CA, Courion, Evidian, Fischer International, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, SAP, Siemens and Sun Microsystems. IAM integrators include many of these vendors as well as the Big Four accounting firms, the mainstream consulting firms, and a variety of boutique firms and independent consultants. Each vendor's software package and each integrator have strengths and weaknesses, so if you do not have the expertise to manage the integration of an IAM tool, we recommend evaluating integrators using the following criteria:
1. Cost. Because software licensing fees and integration fees can be as high as a company is willing to pay, compare the base license fees from each vendor based on the existing (not promised) functionality options and continuing service commitment that might be included.
2. Functionality. As with many products and services, the promises of marketing professionals don't always equate to reality. Require live demonstrations of each vendor's products and integration methodologies to get a more realistic picture of true functionality and service offerings.
3. Record. With a long list of vendors and integrators to evaluate when making an IAM selection, speaking with former and current clients of the prospective vendor or integrator will help to distinguish the vendors and integrators that are serious about taking care of their customers before, during and, more importantly, after the sale.
4. Leverage. If your company already has a professional relationship with a vendor or integrator, leveraging the existing products or services being provided can assist in reducing the overall costs associated with IAM implementation.
5. Scalability. As most companies are trying to grow business, your IAM vendor and integrator should be as scalable (based on track record rather than verbal promises) as your business plan.
With all of the benefits available with IAM software tools, why aren't companies rushing to implement them? For the same reasons that companies should not rush into any technology decisions—they require careful consideration of several common challenges as well as planning to address such challenges. A few common challenges of IAM tools—implementation, business readiness, and long-term maintenance— can be more successfully navigated by partnering with the right IAM integrator. Evaluating the following implementation considerations can help determine if an IAM solution is right for your company. Furthermore, requiring potential IAM integrators to demonstrate competency addressing these considerations and to provide former and current client references to validate their competency can facilitate an objective service provider selection.
As with many system implementations, costs of implementing an IAM tool can quickly soar out of control; and the original business benefits associated with the implementation may not be fully realized if proper controls are not in place from the start. The sidebar "Common Pitfalls of IAM Implementations" lists some of the problems that can arise.
To address such risks, these leading practices may be helpful:
n Obtain stakeholder consensus. As all IAM implementations are different and include unique project requirements, the project team should identify all key stakeholders and gain their consensus on scope and approach.
n Obtain executive-level sponsorship. Because an IAM implementation affects multiple business units within an organization, obtaining executive sponsorship is critical to realizing the full benefits of the software. For example, a state government recently implemented an IAM system, which was sponsored by the Department of Administration. Because the senior state leadership promoted the project, the IAM tool is achieving the intended cross-agency adoption.
n Adopt and implement a structured project management approach. Implementing an IAM solution is not a simple "plug and play" operation. According to Gartner Research, "Large-scale user-provisioning projects are complex initiatives and require experienced management to increase the chances of success. Although the success rates of such initiatives are now higher than in previous years, userprovisioning projects still have a significant failure rate due primarily to scope definition and managing to that scope."
Common Pitfalls of IAM Implementations
n Project risk management and governance models are not in place or are lacking.
n Analysis and definition of business and technical requirements are incomplete.
n Validation of proposed solutions, integration partners and rules is limited.
n Scope of services and functionality continues to expand beyond original strategies (scope creep).
n Executive sponsorship is insufficient or political agendas are in place.
n Testing and migration of the final solution are insufficient.
n Existing errors are either undetected or ignored (for example, IAM system doesn't interface with other systems correctly or the system is unusable).
n Eventual production system does not meet original expectations.
As part of the IAM implementation, business processes and procedures should be considered to make sure they are consistent with the pending IAM technology. Common business readiness challenges include:
n Existing user administration processes are poorly defined.
n Control and process owners are inconsistently identified.
n Knowledge of compliance requirements is deficient.
n Audit considerations are not fully contemplated.
To plan for such challenges, these leading practices should be considered:
n Understand your user account landscape and associated complexity. If your company is larger and more complex (10 or more IDs per user), the associated complexity will equate to greater project management requirements and costs. If your company is smaller and less complex (five or fewer IDs per user with no anticipation of growth), you might consider alternative business process modifications instead of implementing an IAM solution.
n Understand your user population. If your users are not computer savvy, implementing a sophisticated employee self-service function as part of your IAM implementation may not be feasible or recommended.
n Properly prepare and train business units. If employees and users receive thorough training, they will have the ability and sense of ownership to maximize the IAM solution's intended value.
n Understand your regulatory requirements. If your organization is required to comply with regulatory standards such as Sarbanes-Oxley, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, integrating regulatory requirements into your implementation plan allows you to address compliance concerns before they become compliance gaps.
After successfully implementing an IAM solution, many organizations fail to adequately plan for short and long-term maintenance. Lack of maintenance planning quickly invalidates the IAM solution and leaves the organization questioning the cost of integration. These questions may help in planning for maintaining the IAM software:
n Who will support the IAM tool after implementation? As the IAM solution vendor or integration partner may offer maintenance services for the solution, a decision should be made sooner rather than later regarding who will maintain the solution and how the maintenance costs will be leveraged in the licensing or integration contract.
n Which group will own the ongoing maintenance costs? Everything costs money and, because the IAM solution will impact platforms and applications across the enterprise, identifying the owner(s) of the ongoing maintenance costs can be politically difficult, but critically important.
n What level of availability will be required of the tool? If the IAM solution is considered mission critical, backup and recovery processes should be included and certified in the initial implementation project to prevent potential availability issues down the road.
n Who will monitor the business processes supporting and impacted by the IAM solution? Compliance managers know that changes to key business processes can substantially alter the control environment, so resources should be identified to monitor the business processes and procedures associated with the IAM solution to avoid invalidating the controls provided by the solution.
n How can we continue to optimize the IAM solution? Because continual improvement is often included in the initial implementation business case, a formal methodology should be developed as part of the integration plan to continue optimizing the effectiveness of the IAM tool after the initial implementation is complete.
Now that you have an understanding of the common challenges and the potential benefits associated with IAM solutions, you have the basis to consider engaging internal or external professionals to perform an IAM readiness review. The results of such a review will provide the additional knowledge needed to develop a business case to determine if an IAM solution is right for the organization and if it is the right time to consider an IAM implementation.
JofA articles
" Help Prevent Identity Theft," June 07, page 30
"Small Business Computer Security," March 06, page 32
"Trust Services: A Better Way to Evaluate IT Controls," March 05, page 69
Web sites
IT Membership Section, www.aicpa.org/infotech
Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), www.aicpa.org/CITP
2008 Top 10 Technology Initiatives, www.aicpa.org/toptech
Additional information can be found in the Top Technology Initiative Content Suites for this topic at http://infotech.aicpa.org/Resources/Top+Technology+Initiatives/
n "Identity Management Market Forecast: 2007 to 2014," by Andras Cser and Jonathan Penn, Forrester Research, Feb. 6, 2008
n "Magic Quadrant for User Provisioning, 2H07," by Earl Perkins and Roberta J. Witty, Gartner Research, Aug. 23, 2007
n "The Truth About Federated Identity Management," by Sarah D. Scalet, CSO Online, Oct. 1, 2006
n "Automated Password Reset Can Cut IT Service Desk Costs," by Kris Brittain and Roberta J. Witty, Gartner Research, Dec. 13, 2004


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text: Stress levels help predict the odds that a pregnant woman will use illicit\/illegal drugs during the first two-thirds of her pregnancy, according to recent findings from a team of U.S. researchers. Women who consume alcohol, use mind-altering drugs or abuse mind-altering medications while pregnant substantially increase their risks for experiencing pregnancy outcomes that seriously harm the health of their developing children. Stress is one of the known predictors of substance abuse among pregnant women and all other adult populations. In a study published in January 2015 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, researchers from the University of Connecticut Health Center explored the impact that stress has on the odds that a woman will use illegal or illicit drugs during pregnancy or in the postpartum period that follows pregnancy. Pregnancy and Substance Use Pregnant women and their developing children have interconnected circulation systems. This means that any substance flowing through the bloodstream of a pregnant woman will ultimately pass into her child\u2019s bloodstream. Developing children lack the means to process drugs or alcohol and to thereby reduce the dangers associated with exposure to those substances. For this and other reasons, exposure to drugs or alcohol can seriously or severely alter the normal course of fetal growth and development and either completely disrupt the course of pregnancy or produce highly damaging short- and\/or long-term effects in a newborn child. Perhaps the most well-documented risks for substance use during pregnancy are the risks associated with alcohol consumption. Pregnant women who drink expose their developing children to a range of conditions known collectively as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders or FASDs. In addition to miscarriages and stillbirths, damaging outcomes linked to these conditions include dangerously low birth weight, premature birth and various types of birth defects. Prescription medication abuse and drug abuse during pregnancy can trigger the same issues for a pregnant woman and her developing child. Substance withdrawal can also cause significant problems. Generally speaking, the peak of substance-related risk in pregnant women occurs in the earlier phases of pregnancy; however, there is considerable risk associated with substance abuse in all phases of pregnancy. Women and Stress Stress is a natural phenomenon that can significantly damage mental and physical well-being when it occurs repeatedly over time or appears in severe or excessive form. Figures compiled by the American Psychological Association indicate that American women have substantially higher chances of reporting excessive stress exposure than American men. In addition, American women are more likely to report an increase in their stress levels over the past five years of their lives. When exposed to recurring or heavy stress, women also have higher chances than men of experiencing mentally and\/or physically damaging stress reactions. Known gender-specific stress factors for women include the hormone fluctuations associated with pregnancy, childbirth, menopause and monthly menstruation. Stress, Pregnancy and Drug Use In the study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the University of Connecticut researchers used a small-scale project to explore the impact that stress has on the odds that a woman will use an illegal or illicit drug during pregnancy or during the days, weeks and months following pregnancy. A total of 49 women were enrolled in this project; all of these women had a history of recent drug use when the project began and subsequently became pregnant while still actively participating in the project. The researchers asked each participant to detail her drug use at five separate times: four months prior to becoming pregnant, during her first trimester of pregnancy, during her second trimester of pregnancy, during her third trimester of pregnancy and half a year after she gave birth. The researchers also asked all of the women to describe their stress levels at each of these five times. After analyzing the participants\u2019 self-reports, the researchers found that most of the women experienced a reduction in their stress levels over the course of their pregnancies. However, some of the women experienced an increase in their stress levels. The researchers concluded that, among those women whose stress levels rose, the chances of using illicit\/illegal drugs increased substantially in the timeframe between two months prior to pregnancy and the end of the second trimester of pregnancy. This finding did not apply to the third trimester of pregnancy. However, the researchers concluded that heightened stress levels predict drug use again starting roughly half a year after the end of pregnancy.


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News and commentary about the reigning royal houses of the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, Spain, Monaco -- and the former European monarchies as well.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Former German Emperor and eldest son have crossed Dutch border
Former German Emperor Wilhelm II and his eldest son, Wilhelm, have crossed "the Dutch frontier," according to "advices from The Hague," and reported by the New York Times.
Wilhelm and his party, which is said to include Field Marshal von Hindenburg, arrived at Eysden at 7:30 in the morning.
It is said that "the whole German General Staff" accompanied Wilhelm and "ten automobiles carried the party." The cars were "bristling with rifles and all the fugitives were armed."
The former Kaiser was dressed in uniform. He got out at the Eysden station and "paced the platform, smoking a cigarette." A few minutes later, an imperial train pulled into the station. Only servants were aboard.
There were also reports that Wilhelm, accompanied by his wife, Auguste, Viktoria, planned to travel to Maastricht, and then to Midachten Castle, which is owned by Count Willem von Bentinck, 38, a member of the Prussian guards.
Posted by Marlene Eilers Koenig at Monday, November 10, 2014
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Safety experts are warning winter mountaineers to take care after avalanches struck climbers on Cairn Gorm.
Three avalanches have been witnessed in recent days and more could follow, particularly in the now notorious Coire an t-Sneachda. Routes around Loch Avon are also at risk.
Cornices, such as this one on Aonach Mòr, are prone to sudden collapse
Scotland has seen good accumulations of snow this winter and more are forecast. But this late in the season, build-ups of unstable windslab and heavy cornices present a risk to walkers, climbers and mountaineers.
One of the avalanches, in Coire an t-Sneachda, was witnessed by Glenore Lodge instructor Giles Trussel. He told the Strathspey and Badenoch Herald: "As [a pair of climbers was] approaching, one of them was just carrying her helmet in her hand like a handbag.
"Both were wearing helmets when they got onto the slope, but they had no axes out.
"The couple took more of a direct line to the route than we would recommend, and just 15 metres from a safe spot, they triggered an avalanche.
He said one of the pair tumbled downwards, but the other was orientated upwards. His party watched them all the way down in and out of the snow.
"They stopped ten metres from the boulders. If they had been slightly further right, they would have gone over some rocks," he said.
"Both stood up after a few seconds and started to move around. They stood there for around five minutes, obviously shaken, and then turned round and headed back. It was a good decision, probably."
Mark Diggins, who works for the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS), said that often mountaineers were blinkered to the dangers of avalanches, focusing on their climb.
He said many mountaineers naively believed avalanches do not occur in Scotland, but they do. Four climbers were killed on Aonach Mòr's T&G Gully in 1998. Three others survived the avalanche despite being buried in snow for 14 hours.
Conditions on the northern Cairngorms, which include Coire an t-Sneachda, were forecast to be at category three – considerable risk – tomorrow, with similar risk in Glencoe and Lochaber, and a category two in the southern Cairngorms, but a high risk – category four – in Creag Meagaidh, where unstable windslab and collapsing cornices are likely on all aspects from the north-eastern round to the southern after heavy overnight snow.
Don't go on to the Scottish mountains without checking the SAIS site first. It costs £130,000 a year to run and real people go up on to the hills to test the risk so you can be safer.
And remember: helmets go on heads, not in your hand.