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This step-by-step cooking tutorial will teach you how to make bourekas using filo (phyllo) dough. Filo can be purchased in most grocery stores in the freezer section. You can use any boureka filling you like– you will need about 1 cup of filling for every 9 bourekas.
Here are the boureka filling recipes that I've posted on my blog so far, I will update this blog with more fillings as I post them:
If you would prefer to make your bourekas with puff pastry, click here for a tutorial.
To learn more about the history of bourekas, click here.
What is your favorite type of boureka? Leave me a comment and let me know!
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How to Make Bourekas with Filo Dough
- 9-12 sheets filo dough
- 1 cup boureka filling (any flavor you like)
- 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter or canola oil (use butter for dairy bourekas, oil for meat bourekas)
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tsp water
- Sesame seeds or poppy seeds for topping
- Nonstick cooking oil spray
- 2 hours before you begin, take your filo dough out of the freezer and let it defrost. You can also let it defrost overnight in the refrigerator, if you prefer.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly dampen a kitchen towel (don't soak it!), and keep it with you as you work with the filo dough.
- Unroll your dough. Filo sheets come in different sizes, so you may need to cut your sheets to size get the size you need. For each boureka, you want to create a double layer of filo dough that is about 4 inches wide and 14 inches long. Folding a smaller filo sheet (8×14) in half lengthwise is the easiest way to form this double layer. If your filo sheets are larger, use scissors to cut the sheet in half lengthwise to make two rectangular pieces. Then, fold each piece in half lengthwise to create the double layer of filo you need.
- Keep the unused filo sheets under the damp towel as you work to keep them from drying out. Filo is very delicate and prone to ripping, so if you've never worked with it before, be patient… rips will happen. It takes some time to get a feel for it.
- Use a pastry brush to paint a thin layer of melted butter or oil onto the surface of the double layer filo rectangle.
- Place 1 1/2-2 tbsp of filling in the lower left corner of the filo rectangle, following the left edge of the filo and fanning downward in a triangular shape.
- Fold the lower left corner of the rectangle up and over the filling to form a triangle of dough.
- Continue folding the filo in the same way you would fold a flag.
- Fold the dough until till the entire strip is used up and a neat triangle pastry is formed.
- Place the folded boureka on a lightly greased baking sheet. Repeat process until all the filling is used up. You should end up with about 9 bourekas.
- Brush each boureka with another thin layer of melted butter or oil. Don't brush it on too heavy, or the bourekas will become very greasy. Just a light layer will do it.
- Whisk together the egg yolk and water together till very smooth. Brush a very light layer of egg wash over the top of each boureka. Don't let the egg wash puddle or pool on the surface-- a light layer works best. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if desired.
- Place the bourekas on the middle rack of your preheated oven. Let them bake for 20-25 minutes till filo turns golden brown and the bourekas are cooked through. Serve warm.
- Store in a sealed in an airtight Tupperware or plastic zipper bag.
- To freeze bourekas: prepare, fill, and seal the pastries. Do not coat with egg wash or bake. Place the unbaked pastries in a Tupperware or plastic bag in single layers, separating each layer of bourekas with a piece of parchment paper or wax paper to keep them from freezing together. Freeze. When ready to bake, take the bourekas out of the freezer (no need to defrost) and arrange them on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick oil. Coat with thin layer of egg wash and sesame or poppy seeds, if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes till golden brown.


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Precision Door Service of Western MA
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In this latest short piece Yves Lamoureux, of Blackmont Capital, Inc., demonstrates that the deleveraging is at the "…half way point in the great unwinding." He charts the Yen versus the Dollar and shows the relationship to our equity markets.
Another good piece of analysis, thanks for sharing Yves!
October 24 COVID-19 Test Results
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – When the Columbus Crew expressed an interest in the offseason in having Federico Higuaín obtain a green card, the Argentine forward was happy to oblige.
"The team manifested the interest in me starting the process," Higuaín told MLSsoccer.com this week through a team translator. "For me, it's a great gesture by the team and there's no reason not to help the team, especially with the limited spots we have for foreigners."
That doesn't suggest any roster movement, however, according to Crew technical director Brian Bliss.
"We're not pursuing anybody at the moment," Bliss said. "But it's nice to know that down the road, when we do need to go out and get someone, hopefully he won't be counting against our number."
Higuaín, who signed as the Crew's third Designated Player in history on July 27 and went on to become MLS Newcomer of the Year, said applying for a green card is a way to show his appreciation for how he, his wife and two young children have been treated in Columbus.
"I'm a family man," he said. "I spend a lot of time with them in my house and with that lifestyle I really enjoy the peace that comes with living in Columbus. It's an open city where everybody is respectful. There's a lot of green area where you can lead a peaceful life that everyone desires."
In turn, Columbus head coach Robert Warzycha, a naturalized US citizen from Poland, is happy that Higuaín desires a green card.
"It's the right thing for him to do," he said. "It shows he wants to stay here and play."
Higuaín, 28, isn't sure if getting the card will lead to him one day seeking American citizenship, a process that often can take at least five years.
"I'm very happy here playing with the team," he said. "I haven't really thought about that but when the moment comes and I continue to stay happy with the team it will be something to think about whether it's appropriate."
Federico Higuain begins green-card process
COLUMBUS, Ohio – When the Columbus Crew expressed an interest in the offseason in having Federico Higuaín obtain a green card, the Argentine forward was happy to oblige.


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Tops620 wrote:Questions:
-Can we use camera movement/v-cam/angle/3D?
-Since we are able to make our own background, is it okay to change the look of the button?
-Is it okay to keep continue our entry after we pressed the button, like we pressed the button, something happened?
yeah im kinda tryin to ask that same question about customizing the button too


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Local Flooring Installers in Your Area
1. Acme Brick Tile & Stone
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Since 1891, millions of homeowners have relied on the beauty, durability, and lasting quality of Acme Brick. The Acme Brick logo is stamped onto select residential brick for very specific reasons. When you see the Acme name, you can be sure that the bricks are: Hard-fired for lasting strength,view details hide details
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Cloud Computing Definition—What is Cloud Computing?
In simple terms, cloud computing allows you to rent instead of buy your IT. Rather than investing heavily in databases, software, and equipment, companies are opting to access their compute power via the internet and pay for it as they use it.
Scalable. Flexible. Intelligent. Discover the power of cloud computing.
Cloud Computing Basics
When a company chooses to "move to the cloud," it means that its IT infrastructure is stored offsite, at a data center that is maintained by the cloud computing provider (such as Oracle). The cloud provider has the responsibility for managing the customer's IT infrastructure, integrating applications, and developing new capabilities and functionality to keep pace with market demands.
For customers, cloud computing offers more agility, scale, and flexibility. Instead spending money and resources on legacy IT systems, customers are able to focus on more strategic tasks. Without making a large upfront investment, companies can quickly access the computing resources they need—and only pay for what they need.
Types of Cloud Computing
There are three different types of clouds: public, private, and hybrid. All of them vary in terms of the amount of management that is required from the customer as well as the level of security provided.
Public Cloud
In a public cloud, the whole computing infrastructure is located on the premises of the cloud provider, who delivers these services to the customer over the internet. The customer does not have to maintain their own IT and can quickly add more users or computing power as needed. The cloud provider has multiple tenants sharing its IT infrastructure.
Private Cloud
A private cloud is used exclusively by one organization. It could be hosted at the organization's location or at the cloud provider's data center. A private cloud provides the highest level of security and control.
Hybrid Cloud
As the name suggests, a hybrid cloud is a combination of both public and private clouds. Generally, the customer will host their business-critical applications on their own servers for more security and control, while their secondary applications will be stored at the cloud provider's location.
The main difference between hybrid cloud and multi cloud is The use of multiple cloud computing and storage devices in a single architecture. Focusing on adding some keywords in the body.
Cloud Computing Services
There are three main types of cloud services: Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). There's no one-size-fits-all approach to cloud, it's more about finding the right solution that supports your business requirements.
SaaS and Its Benefits
Software as a service (SaaS) is a software delivery model in which the cloud provider hosts the customer's applications at their location. The customer accesses their applications over the internet. Rather than paying for and maintaining their own computing infrastructure, the customer takes advantage of subscription to the service on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Many businesses are finding SaaS to be the ideal solution because it enables them to get up and running quickly with the most innovative technology available. Automatic updates reduce the burden on in-house resources. Customers can scale services to support fluctuating workloads, adding more services or features they grow. A modern cloud suite provides complete software for every business need such as customer experience, ERP procurement, ERP project portfolio management, supply chain, and enterprise planning.
PaaS and Its Benefits
Platform as a service (PaaS) enables customers the advantage to access the developer tools they need to build and manage mobile and web applications without investing in—or maintaining—the underlying infrastructure. The provider hosts the infrastructure and middleware components and the customer accesses those services via a web browser.
To aid productivity, Oracle's PaaS offers ready-to-use programming components that allow developers to build new capabilities into their applications, including innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT). It also include solutions for analysts, end users, and professional IT administrators, including big data analytics, content management, database management, systems management, and security.
IaaS and Its Benefits
Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) enables customers to access infrastructure services on an on-demand basis through the internet. The key advantage is that the cloud provider hosts the infrastructure components that provide compute, storage, and network capacity so that their subscribers can run their workloads in the cloud. The cloud subscriber is usually responsible for installing, configuring, securing, and maintaining any software on the cloud-based infrastructure, such as database, middleware, and application software.
Cloud Computing Benefits
There are several trends pushing business—across all industries—toward the cloud. For most organizations, the current way of doing business might not deliver the agility to grow or provide the platform or flexibility to compete. The explosion of data created by an increasing number of digital businesses is pushing the cost and complexity of data center storage to new levels—demanding new skills and analytics tools from IT.
Modern cloud solutions help companies meet the challenges of the digital age. Instead of managing their IT, organizations have the ability to respond quickly to a more fast-paced and complex business landscape.
How Cloud Can Foster Innovation
Cloud customers automatically have the latest innovations and emerging technologies built into their IT systems. The cloud provider takes on the work of developing new capabilities and features. Cloud customers gain that strategic advantage.
It's about the speed of innovation. Oracle Cloud customers are able to leverage a modern cloud computing architecture to innovate faster, increase productivity, and lower costs. Oracle's integrated cloud (SaaS, PaaS, and IaaS) capabilities provide businesses the ability to move from operations to innovation. Enterprises can deliver new apps and services, including the use of innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Companies can harness the abundance of data to gain predictive insights into their businesses and ultimately drive better outcomes for their customers.
Cloud Security—Build Trust
Moving to the cloud removes the headaches and costs of maintaining IT security. An experienced cloud provider continually invests in the latest security technology—not only to respond to potential threats, but also to enable customers to better meet their regulatory requirements.
Oracle continually invests in every layer of cloud security as part of its overall design across global data center regions. Oracle's trusted, proven cloud is designed to be secure at every layer of the stack. This multilayer secure cloud approach goes beyond every other cloud provider to offer security at the level the customer's business requires.
Cloud Solutions—Connect business processes
For organizations that struggle with disconnected business processes and data silos, the cloud offers a way to transform their business operations. With the cloud, there's no need reinvent the process wheel. Oracle's complete cloud applications suite is modular, yet connected to eliminate data silos and enable a connected, intelligent business.
Oracle provides all three layers of the cloud—connected in unprecedented ways. It's a complete, integrated platform with intelligent solutions at every layer. With our complete business applications suite and leading ERP solution, we enable organizations to run their entire business in the cloud. To help achieve savings and agility improvements, Oracle Autonomous Database uniquely enables this transformation by eliminating complexity, human error, and manual management.


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As with any drug rehabilitation programme, individual results will vary.
|What Graduates Say
|What Families of Graduates Say
|Public Service Announcements
Overcoming Crystal Meth
Narconon Graduate
Pedro L.
My drug of choice was crystal meth. Every little impulse that I had I acted on it, so the process of thought had completely gone out the window.
No thought whether it was right or it was wrong, simply just—do. And I had no control over it. Meth made me feel dead.
It was the worst thing that could've ever happened to me my life.
I mean, it cost me my family, cost me my friends. It cost me myself. Once I lost myself, I lost everything.
Thankfully, my sister found Narconon.
During the sauna, I slept better, my skin got better, I started to gain weight again.
I was reborn.
It rejuvenated me in every sense of the word — physically, mentally, I was able to think better and actually process thought, rather than just acting on instinct.
I go to sleep just to wake up the next morning to see what else I'm going to achieve the next day.
I had my family back, I had myself back, I had my drive to live again, I had my drive to succeed. And not only that, I also had my compassion for humanity back.


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Ulster have reached the RaboDirect Pro12 final, beating Scarlets 28-17 at Ravenhill last night. It was an eventful, amusing game for winger Andrew Trimble, who was yellow carded for fighting in the first half, and later provided some laughs with a comical trip.
After some early penalty kick exchanges, the first try came on 25 minutes as British & Irish Lions tourists Tommy Bowe and George North went one on one, with the senior Bowe getting the better of the young star, rounding him for a well taken try.
Both sides were down to 14 men following a scuffle between backs Liam Williams and Andrew Trimble, which seemed to kick off after a push and shove at the bottom of ruck.
Robbie Diack later crossed for a try and at halftime the hosts led 18-3, before Tom Court crossed in the second. Scarlets' Gareth Davies scored what was probably the try of the match as he weaved his way past defenders, and later Sione Timani also scored, but it wasn't enough for the visitors.
Man of the Match Rory Best spoke of how determined Ulster are to win a trophy this season.
"Ultimately this is where we want to be. We want to win silverware this year and this is our last crack at it now. This team, we felt at the start of the season, was good enough to win something — we wanted to win everything, but this is our thing now and we're delighted to be in the final."
The Pro12 Final takes place on May 25th in Dublin, where Ulster will face either Leinster or Glasgow.
View a highlights wrap of the match | View the amusing toe stub face plant by Trimble
Note: All clips are official Pro12 highlights, so there is no commentary unfortunately
Official highlights wrap of the match (longer clip with commentary will replace this soon)
Time: 2:04
Andrew Trimble's unfortunate toe stub while attempting to kick the ball ahead
Time: 0:48


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Welcome to TVSL
To focus on serving business needs for IT Infrastructure and Business applications for Government & other organizations operating in Bangladesh, Tech Valley Solutions Ltd. (TVSL) is working keenly closer to the challenge as a one point solution provider and was established with the same vision in mind.
Tech Valley Solutions Limited is dealing in IT Equipment, Peripherals like Computers, Servers, Printing & Imaging Products, etc. and Power solution Products like UPS, Genset, IT Switches, etc. and also provides application & security solutions with Microsoft, Symantec and GFI with a view to smoothen its customers' IT operations.


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CTC urges supporters to email Boris Johnson demanding he tackle lorry danger
CTC urges supporters to email Boris Johnson demanding he tackle lorry danger
CTC is angered that the Mayor's response to the recent spate of deaths in London has been to point the finger at the victims of these collisions. Instead, CTC believes the Mayor should be tackling the sources, rather than the symptoms, of road danger, in accordance with basic principles of safety management. These include major roads and junctions, and lorries.
CTC wants the mayor to implement the following actions:
(a) Re-design and re-build major roads and junctions to high standards of cycle-friendliness, rather than sacrificing pedestrians' and cyclists' safety in order to maximise motor traffic flows;
(b) Insist that lorries used in London should meet high cycle-friendly and pedestrian-friendly design standards;
(c) Keep lorries off the busiest roads at the busiest times.
As the Mayor Boris Johnson launches a 'zero-tolerance' policing campaign, CTC hopes this policing operation will genuinely tackle the real sources of danger rather than simply being a PR exercise to satisfy Londoners that he is 'doing something'.
CTC fully acknowledges the value of cycle awareness campaigns and training, for lorry drivers and cyclists alike, to minimise further risks caused by irresponsible behaviour or simple human error. For instance, there is undoubted value in raising cyclists' awareness of the dangers of riding up the left hand side of lorries.
However the Mayor's one-off policing clampdown, targeted at drivers and cyclists alike, appears to be aimed more at deflecting attention from the real issue, namely his own and ministers' responsibilities for minimising road danger at source.
The charity's Chief Executive, Gordon Seabright, also wrote to the Transport Minister, Robert Goodwill, encouraging him to call in the leaders of the haulage and construction industry every time a cyclist is killed in a collision with an HGV.


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Each semester, professors from the four UHV schools select an outstanding student from both their graduate and undergraduate programs to be honored during commencement.
9 a.m. Saturday for graduates of the schools of Arts & Sciences and Education & Human Development; 1 p.m. for graduates of the schools of Business Administration and Nursing.
Faith Family Church, 2002 E. Mockingbird Lane.
A: The School of Nursing will have a pinning ceremony at 3 p.m. at Faith Family Church.
When Clair Jordan, former executive director of the Texas Nurses Association, heard about Angelica Ybarra's hectic schedule and academic drive, she asked the student nurse to write an article for a nursing magazine.
While pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing in nursing administration from the University of Houston-Victoria, Ybarra worked as a nurse analyst in Austin, completed a leadership practicum at the Texas Nurses Association, raised two sons and helped support her husband through law school.
Now, Ybarra, an Austin resident, also is the School of Nursing outstanding spring graduate student. Kelly Randermann, of Weimar, is the outstanding spring undergraduate.
Kathryn Tart, founding dean of the UHV School of Nursing, said Ybarra and Randermann represent what nurses can achieve with further education.
"Angelica and Kelly have a remarkable academic record, and we are proud to honor them," Tart said. "Although already successful in their careers, they realized there is more to achieve by pursuing an advanced degree."
A registered nurse for 13 years, Ybarra has worked in various health care settings such as hospitals, home health, telehealth, community health and nursing management. She now is a nurse analyst for TMF Health Quality Institute, where she develops and maintains medical policies for Texas Medicaid and the Children with Special Health Care Needs Services Program.
"Nurses have versatility, and we fulfill roles in every facet of health care," Ybarra said. "The majority of the nursing workforce is at the front lines of direct-patient care, but nurses can also serve in administrative and executive leadership roles. As nurse administrators, we have the opportunity to collaborate with other health care professionals, provide nursing leadership, foster healthy workplace environments, advocate for nurses and improve patient outcomes on a larger scale."
Ybarra's article, titled "Nurse Ybarra takes action to support the '80 by '20' initiative," was published in Texas Nursing Voice, which is distributed to 300,000 nurses. Ybarra discussed her nursing journey and gave her opinion about the initiative.
The "80 by '20" initiative recommendation was set forth in the Institute of Medicine's Future of Nursing report to increase the number of nurses with baccalaureate degrees 80 percent by 2020.
Ybarra said a highlight of her graduate nursing education was conducting the practicum at the Texas Nurses Association and mentoring under Jordan. Her experiences during her practicum made her want to seek out leadership opportunities in the future.
Ybarra thanked the M.G. & Lillie A. Johnson Foundation for providing her with a nursing scholarship at UHV.
"As a Johnson scholar, I felt compelled to excel in my nursing studies, and I'm proud to say I will complete the MSN program with a 4.0 grade-point average," she said."I strongly believe that the nursing profession can be strengthened through education. I can attest to the fact that my understanding of the broader context of nursing practice has reached a deeper level that makes me feel more effective in my nursing role
Similarly, Randermann said she tried to apply everything she learned in UHV's RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program to her job as a critical care nurse at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Katy.
"Because of my education at UHV, I am able to look more critically at research, have a greater understanding of policy and regulatory practice and am able to collaborate with colleagues more often."
Randermann earned an associate degree in 1987 from Dallas Community College. After two decades away from school, Randermann started an online nursing program in 2008 but was unable to complete it because of a family health matter.
She decided to give it another try last year but sought a face-to-face program. Randermann heard from other nurses that the faculty interaction at UHV was excellent.
"I have thrived here," she said. "I really have enjoyed the academic setting, and I like having easy access to the faculty. UHV has world-class faculty members who challenge the students."
Randermann said the reason she initially enrolled in an online program is that she had a fear of formally speaking to a group of people.
"From the first class at UHV, we were expected to develop and give PowerPoint presentations," she said. "I have carried that out here and extended that ability to my workplace. I'm comfortable with it now."
Randermann is interested in continuing her education with UHV's new MSN family nurse practitioner track. UHV is scheduled to begin offering the track this fall, pending approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
She also has thought about eventually joining the academic side of the profession as a teacher.
"There are a lot of good role models here at UHV," Randermann said.


text:
I've had a little trouble sitting down and writing this until now, because it's been a very long day and I've been busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. When that happens, I usually fall back on my usual array of videos.
For example, a couple of musical numbers from the 1950 film Fancy Pants with Lucille Ball and Bob Hope. Lucy's voice is dubbed by Annette Warren. Lucy was a beautiful woman, wasn't she?
Lucy reminded me of my mom. I was watching The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson one night back when I was still living at home, and she was a guest. While she was being interviewed, son Desi came out and surprised her. There was a lot of kissing and hugging, and it was clear she was happy to see him. Then, when they sat down, she turned to him and said, "Now, when are you going to clean your room?" I swear, she looked like Mom.
Something tells me all moms have that look…
There are a lot of songs named "Fancy." My favorite is the one by Bobbie Gentry. I know Reba McEntire covered "Fancy," but no one does it like Bobbie.
We didn't hear much from Bobbie Gentry after "Ode To Billie Joe," "we" referring to us in the Chicago area. There were no country music stations per se in Chicago at the time; it was the late Seventies before we did. She had a great voice and wrote a lot of her own songs, and she was gorgeous.
A suggestion for you cat lovers: if your cat doesn't seem to be eating, try a can of Fancy Feast. Our vet calls it "kitty crack." If they won't eat Fancy Feast, take them to the vet: there's something wrong.
Going to keep this short. What other "fancy" things can you think of?


text:
Israel bars academic from Berlin diplomatic event
Israel barred a dovish Israeli academic from taking part in a science symposium in Berlin on Thursday that was part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Germany, drawing renewed charges that his government has little tolerance for dissent.
An official traveling with Netanyahu said professor and human rights expert Rivka Feldhay was banned from a meeting of Israeli and German scientists because the prime minister did not want to allow the participation of an Israeli "who tarnishes the name of Israeli soldiers and pilots."
Feldhay signed a petition in 2008 that supported Israeli soldiers who refused to serve in Palestinian territories, the official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
Feldhay told The Associated Press in an email that she had traveled to Berlin at the invitation of the Israeli embassy in Germany.
After her arrival, the embassy notified Feldhay that National Security Council head Yaakov Amidror "refused to confirm my participation since I am a critical of the government of Israel."
In her subsequent communications with government officials, Feldhay said she was attacked as "an enemy of the state."
"I am amazed that the Council of National Security has found nothing more important in terms of Israeli security than myself," she said. "It fits other types of regimes than democracy, a regime (where) there is no distinction between opposition to the government and enemies of the state."
Opposition figures have accused Netanyahu and his political allies of trying to stifle dissent and pluralism through a string of bills brought before parliament.
One of the measures, assailed by Israel's attorney general and put on hold, would sharply restrict funding for dovish groups.
Others, passed into law, require non-Jewish new citizens to pledge a loyalty oath to a "Jewish and democratic state." They also deny state funding to groups that mourn what Palestinians call "the catastrophe" of Israel's 1948 creation and punish Israelis who advocate boycotting Jewish settlements.
The government rejects claims that dissent is being quieted, citing Israel's raucous press and independent courts.
Critics counter that the government has tried to muzzle those institutions as well, saying proposed legislation would undermine the independence of the Supreme Court, the sole check on the Israeli legislature.
Journalists have warned of an anti-media blitz through political appointments to the country's public broadcasting system, sidelining prominent critics and an amended libel law that could put a chill on investigative reports.


text:
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Did you lose your undies?
Show me a strapping young man sporting six-pack abs and a pair of boxer briefs and I'll show you…well, pretty much anything you want to see. I believe in fair exchange.
But there's something about seeing abandoned underwear that takes away the appeal. Sort of like how you wouldn't think twice about kissing a loved one on the head, but if the same person loses a hair in your salad, there's no way you're shoveling another bite of spinach in your mouth.
Maybe that's why I'm disturbed by a trend I've noticed lately. Abandoned underwear has been turning up in a lot of public places, and I'm not certain why.
Last week, I spotted a pair of boxer shorts on an empty lot near my house.
I'm not sure if this violates the "no trespassing" rule or the "no dumping" one, but either way, my retinas are scarred.
Then yesterday I was walking to a friend's downtown handbag boutique to say hello at lunch when I spotted these on the sidewalk:
I looked around to see if there were more articles of clothing. Maybe someone decided to do an impromptu striptease in the downtown streets on a 30-degree day.
But no, there was only the thong.
I walked into my friend's shop. "Did you lose your black underwear on the sidewalk again?" I asked.
"I saw that this morning!" she said. "I thought about picking it up so it doesn't look trashy in front of the store, but–"
"I know."
We pondered it for a moment. How did the underwear get there?
"Maybe someone was trying on a dress at the boutique next door and brought special underwear to see how it would go?" my friend suggested.
"Could have just gotten stuck in someone's pant-leg in the dryer and fallen out," I suggested. "Or maybe someone was having a tryst up against a car in the middle of the night and–"
"Don't start with the romance writer crap."
We both glanced outside at the thong. It sat there looking forlorn, fluttering a little in the breeze.
"Want me to go kick it into the street?" I offered.
"I don't think a thong on the street is any better than a thong on the sidewalk."
"Good point."
We finally gave up talking about the thong and had a polite chat about something else. OK, it probably wasn't polite, but it was about something else.
Finally, it was time to leave. Just as I reached the thong, I ran into the Executive Director of the Downtown Business Association.
I pointed at the thong. "Yours?"
He stared at it for a moment, blinking a couple times with the possible hope of making it disappear. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of gloves.
"Gotta keep the sidewalks looking nice," he said, and bent to pick up the thong.
I didn't watch as he walked away, and I think I'd rather not know what he did with it. Either way, I'm pretty sure that's not something he ever imagined in his job description.
So what's the deal with the abandoned underwear? Does anyone have a theory? Am I the only one who keeps seeing this stuff? Please share.
And please let me know if you happen to need some underwear. I'm sure I'll run across another pair again soon.
28 comments :
- Summer Frey said...
I have no theories, except the romance writer ones.
I'm also curious about the one-shoe phenomenon. How do you not realize that you're missing a shoe?
- April 6, 2011 at 7:05 AM
- Rick said...
Actually, I could use a few more pairs of dress socks. Think you could keep an eye peeled for me?
- April 6, 2011 at 7:06 AM
- Jenna McCarthy said...
Not long ago I was walking with my daughter when I felt something funny on my leg, inside my jeans. I started doing the well-known There's a Spider in My Pants dance and kicking my legs out alternately to rid them of the spider. On the third or fourth kick, a lacy Hanky Panky thong came flying out. Two things are important to note here: 1. The first thing I did--no lie--was to pull back the waist of my jeans to see if I was still wearing panties. (I was.) 2. I snatched (snatched!) them off the ground quickly enough that my daughter is actually still speaking to me.
(I was thoroughly mystified by the whole thing until a friend told me that they just got stuck inside my pants in the wash and that it "happens all the time". I'm almost 42 and this was a first for me, so I think she's crazy.)
- April 6, 2011 at 7:06 AM
- Deborah Small said...
Priceless. Just priceless.
I notice discarded fast-food wrappers and shoes dangling on power lines. You find abandoned delicates. Obviously I live in an area populated by shoeless burger and fry munching derelicts, while you, my dear, reside in a haven of Commandos. :)
Thanks for perking up my Wednesday morning. *g*
- April 6, 2011 at 7:09 AM
- Shain Brown said...
It's all the new romance books coming out. It's in the air I tell you. They are inciting impromptu romps along the city streets throughout the wee hours of the night.
Though I have to agree once they become abandoned they lose any appeal whatsoever.
- April 6, 2011 at 7:12 AM
- Julia Broadbooks said...
I can honestly say I've never found underwear on the sidewalk. Once I did see some in the bushes at an isolated park parking lot. I was pretty sure those were from a teenaged tryst in the woods.
I still don't see how you wouldn't notice your thong was missing.
- April 6, 2011 at 7:18 AM
- Linda G. said...
Geez, sorry. Musta slipped right off while I was walking. ;)
- April 6, 2011 at 7:18 AM
- Diane Henders said...
For the thong, I'm going to go with the renegade laundry theory. My husband came very close to carrying a lacy thong off to work in his pants one day. Try explaining that to the guys when it falls out in a meeting.
That theory doesn't work for the boxers, though. I'm pretty sure you'd notice a spare pair hitching a ride.
For that one, I have to go with the idea that they were abandoned after some tragic occurrence like hurking in one's underwear. But that seems unlikely. I mean, really, who does that? :-)
- April 6, 2011 at 7:44 AM
It probably *is* something he imagined in his job description. Why else would he have those rubber gloves in his pocket??
- April 6, 2011 at 7:46 AM
- Dr. Cheryl Carvajal said...
If my theory is right, there is no reason to be squeamish.
I imagine a woman on a date, wanting to make sure her undies are in tip-top shape in case the night goes well. But, sadly, the extra, super clean, super sexy undies slip out of her purse as she pulls it on her shoulder to head out to his place, and when she gets to the bathroom she realizes she'll just have to wing it with the granny panties she wore for comfort.
Then again, if I'm wrong, and they are not laundered... no, I can't go on. I'll go insane...
- April 6, 2011 at 7:51 AM
- Danica Avet said...
Tawna, you lucky dog! You're being visited by the Underwear Fairy! Those are signs that your book is hot enough to set someone's pants on fire, so I wouldn't be grossed out. I wouldn't pick them up, either, but look upon them as validation that your books will be successful because not everyone is visited by the Underwear Fairy!
- April 6, 2011 at 7:58 AM
- Sarah W said...
Jenna, you made tears squirt out of my eyes!
I don't see underwear -- but someone's been leaving banana peels everywhere I've parked lately, both lots and on the street.
It's like the flying monkeys are scouting out free places for me, but I missed the memo. . .
- April 6, 2011 at 8:07 AM
- Alexa O said...
Another aspect of the mystery: Why was the Executive Director of the Downtown Business Association carrying gloves? Did he expect to pick up a pair of discarded thongs that day, or is he always so prepared?
- April 6, 2011 at 8:18 AM
- Debra Lynn Lazar said...
They say what we visualize materializes. Just sayin'.
- April 6, 2011 at 9:11 AM
- Matthew MacNish said...
I didn't even think people wore underwear where you live. All the people I've met from there are dirty hippies who wear patchouli instead of showering.
Wait. You're from Bend, right? Or was it Eugene?
- April 6, 2011 at 9:29 AM
- Missy said...
You are hysterical! Thanks for making me laugh day after day!
- April 6, 2011 at 9:34 AM
- Judy,Judy,Judy. said...
My friend was once out late on Saturday night. She got up the next morning, put on clean undies and the same pants she was wearing the night before. She had been walking around the grocery store an hour before realizing, the old undies from yesterday were hanging out the back of her pants.
Maybe they just fell out as someone was walking.
- April 6, 2011 at 9:41 AM
- The Writing Goddess said...
Lol, I just wrote a short story where the MC, after a One Night Stand, sniffs her panties and decides to stuff them in her panties and go commando. Then they could have dropped out somewhere along the way as she's dragging out her wallet for Starbucks. That's MY theory.
Guys' boxers, on the other hand - hmmm... maybe thrown out of the window, along with an armful of other clothing, by an angry girlfriend after discovering a naughty text?
Fabulous topic, thanks for letting me play.
- April 6, 2011 at 11:37 AM
- The Writing Goddess said...
Oops, stuff them in her PURSE, I've got panties on the mind.
Oh, and a friend enlightened me on the shoe thing. Apparently, when demons eat a soul, they leave the shoes behind. Those empty shoes? Demon leavin's.
- April 6, 2011 at 11:40 AM
- snacks said...
I DO know what he did with the thong! As I was teasing him about thong disposal apparently being part of his job description, he dropped the panties into the recycling bin. Now I'm not so sure that thongs are recyclable but there's no way I'm going to dig them out of there to put them in the proper receptacle. Recycling bin will have to do. Better than the sidewalk, huh?
- April 6, 2011 at 11:59 AM
- Christina Auret said...
Well, little voice from the third world, around here it would not stay on the sidewalk long, because someone would find a use for it.
- April 6, 2011 at 12:10 PM
- DrCarrieT said...
Several years ago, my family was walking along a sidewalk at a popular amusement park when we saw a woman ahead of us drop something. Ever the helpful person, my mom reached down, picked up the object and cried, "Ma'am, I think you dropped something."
It was RIGHT at that moment that we all realized the object was a pair of, um, stout, granny panties.
I don't know who was more shocked--the dropper or the picker-upper. The lady claimed they weren't hers, and we let her lie pass, but my whole family watched them hit the ground.
- April 6, 2011 at 12:18 PM
- Shelley Watters said...
I think you might have an panty raid bandit on your hands. I remember you posted a forlorn sock in a tree a while back. My guess is that either there is a very pissed-off dresser somewhere who is vomiting out clothes into the air, which get caught in the wind and blown all over your zip code, or a bandit is snatching the contents of people's underwear drawer in the middle of the night and those are the remnants that fall out of his bag during his flight from police.
Or, it could be a laundry mishap.
But I'm going to go with the delicates-vomiting dresser/panty bandit theory. :D
- April 6, 2011 at 12:54 PM
- Bethany Elizabeth said...
It seems there are a lot of abandoned clothing items in your part of the world. Underwear, shoes...
- April 6, 2011 at 1:29 PM
- Kadi Easley said...
I haven't run across any underwear, but I did see a lone shoe in the road on my way home from work, it made me think of you, Tawna. :)
Related to the underwear, I was walking/stomping across the lot at work the other day in my five ton work boots and noticed a dryer sheet flapping out the bottom of my pant leg. At least it wasn't stuck to my shoe like toilet paper.
- April 6, 2011 at 5:30 PM
- Neurotic Workaholic said...
I must admit that I've seen underwear on the streets as well as other articles of clothing. I once saw a wool hat taped to a streetlight; someone had stapled a sign on it that said, "Free Lice." There are several laundromats in my area, so I think that the clothes might be from people who accidentally drop them when they're carrying their laundry bags in/or out.
- April 6, 2011 at 10:20 PM
- Melissa Sarno said...
I see abandoned underwear a lot in New York City. My practical theory is that people drop it from their basket or bag when they're going to do laundry, but really I think there must be a more fun explanation. Cheap thrill throwing your underwear out the car window like when my Mom went to see Elvis when she was a teen? Angry ex-boyfriend or girlfriend tossing it out to avoid painful memories?
- April 7, 2011 at 11:13 AM
- Unknown said...
The sad part is, I see it, and don't really react.
And in response to the shoes on powerlines, apparently people used to do that to signal a drug deal. But I heard that through oral tradition. Who knows how credible that can be.
- April 8, 2011 at 2:12 AM


text:
Court News
Iakimo Felise, who was accused by the government of molesting a 10-year old victim in April this year, was sentenced Thursday, by the High Court, to 20 months imprisonment as a condition of his five-year probation.
Other conditions imposed by the court as part of probation are that Felise register as a sex offender, take the HIV test, attend and successfully complete alcohol counseling and not make any direct or indirect contact with the victim, who told police the defendant grabbed her and pulled her under the steps of the guest house and carried out the sex crime.
Felise stopped the illegal act and fled the scene when another man called out to the defendant, according to court documents.
Felise, who remains in custody unable to post the $50,000 bail, was initially charged with one count each of child molestation and deviate sexual assault. But, under a plea agreement with the government one of the charges was amended to sodomy, to which Felise entered a guilty plea.
Associate Justice Lyle L. Richmond told Felise the jail term imposed by the court is much lighter compared to the crime he committed against the very young victim, who will never forget this terrible incident.
Before being sentenced Felise apologized to the court and also to the girl's family for his crime, asking them for forgiveness.
To his family, Felise asked for forgiveness adding that the crime he committed has tarnished the family's good name. He promised not to consume alcohol or violate any other law and will abide by any decision of the court.
Assistant Attorney General Mitzie Jessop Folau recommended that the defendant depart the territory after serving the required jail term. However, she said the government remains unclear on the defendant's immigration status.
Richmond said the court will not go into the immigration issue right now until the government is clear on what the defendant's immigration status is. He said the court can revisit and amend conditions of his probation to include departure if the government verifies his birthplace.
The High Court has set sentencing for Mikaele Aulaumea, for Dec. 21, after he reached a plea agreement with the government for breaking into a store and taking off with merchandise.
During Thursday's plea hearing, Aulaumea admitted that he damaged the front portion of the Christopher store in Leone to make his way inside and stole merchandise including clothing and beer with a total cost of more than $100.
He also admitted to being involved in the break-in at Pritchard Bakery where he stood guard in front of the bakery while his friends were inside stealing goods. When questioned by the court, Aulaumea said he does not know for sure if his friends stole any merchandise but he suspects they did.
According to the government, the goods stolen from the bakery were found in Christopher's store.
Aulaumea was scheduled to go on trial on Nov. 29 for two counts of stealing and burglary but under a plea agreement with the government, the defendant pled guilty to one count of stealing with the other charges dismissed.
Aulaumea, who remains in custody unable to post bail, told the court that he could not clearly recall what happened on the night of Mar. 28 when the break-ins occurred because he was very drunk.
The government would not make any sentencing recommendations in the plea agreement until they receive a pre sentence report from the Probation Office.
Kilisitina Seigafo, who was supposed to go on trial earlier this week for stealing $260 from the wallet of a caucasian man, was released Wednesday from the Territorial Correctional Facility after an agreement was reached with the government.
Part of the agreement calls for Seigafo to repay the money and government will move to dismiss the stealing charge against the defendant.
During a hearing this week Seigafo's attorney Public Defender Ruth Risch-Fuatagavi informed the court that her client was supposed to go on trial Nov. 14 but with the plea agreement, a trial is no longer necessary.
Risch-Fuatagavi then asked the court for Seigafo's release on her own recognizance so that she can find employment to fulfill her obligations to repay the money back. A statement confirmed by Assistant Attorney General Cecilia Reyna who noted that the plea agreement is already signed.
The court granted the defense's motion and scheduled a status hearing next month for an update on the case.
Seigafo was initially charged with stealing and the government claimed in court documents that the defendant took the wallet belonging to a man she met at the hospital and the man gave her a ride to Maliu Mai Resort.
The government says the defendant used a bank card inside the man's wallet to withdraw money from the ATM without the victim's permission.
Samoa News reporters Ausage Fausia and Fili Sagapolutele contributed to this report.


text:
The nuts & bolts: 13 basic financial questions you need answers to
"I wish more people would ask these questions," said Pam Dumonceau, a registered investment adviser in Denver with over 20 years of experience.
They weren't unusual questions. In fact, they were the most basic personal finance questions. But they're the questions we all face and should probably be asking. Questions that return some kind of conventional-wisdom answer. Questions - in some cases - that ask these professionals to justify their own value to the average person as, respectively, a registered investment advisor, financial literacy teacher and tax preparer.
Here, find those questions and the rule-of-thumb advice, edited for length and clarity, given by a few people who know money.
Buy or rent?
Pam Dumonceau, president and CEO of Consistent Values Inc., a Denver registered investment adviser: There's a lot of conversation these days about the younger generation that doesn't want to buy. But really if you look at the long term, having your housing paid off someday so you don't have a cost of housing is really a nice objective. So really it doesn't matter if you buy in 2014 and the price goes down a little before it goes up - the only way to do that is to get your toe in the water and get started.
Amy Fidelis, marketing and education director of mpowered, a Denver-based financial-literacy nonprofit:It really depends on a couple of factors. How long do you plan on staying? Are you going to need to leave the property quickly at some point? Are you ready to take on the responsibility of fixing things and upkeep? Over time, in terms of passing on generational assets, homeownership does tend to lift families out of generational poverty. But in the work we do we see a lot of people that lost their job and now they can't make the mortgage.
Mark Sanders, certified public accountant in Greenwood Village: If you can afford it, I think there are upsides to owning, but it's not as hard and fast as it would have been, say, 10 years ago. I've always been a homeowner, but we could be losing some of that benefit.
OK, how much of my income should go toward housing costs?
Dumonceau: There are rules of thumb, about 25 to 30 percent going to housing, and in our community, I think that's workable. I think it's more important also to personalize it and look at one's budget. I know people who are really homebodies, and they spend 40 to 50 percent on housing but they don't care to travel.
Fidelis: What we like to do is look at all of the housing expenses, so rent, mortgage, gas, water, insurance, and we like to see it less than 30 or 35 percent total, so the actual rent or mortgage might only be 20 or 25 percent.
Sanders: I typically say around 30 percent. I don't like to see clients go much more than that anymore just because life seems to be very uncertain, and people don't have a nest egg.
How much time should my emergency fund cover?
Dumonceau: The variation would be somewhere between six months to two years of expenses. I'm not using the gross-income multiple, I'm using the expenses multiple. Oftentimes for retirees, I say two years of expenses. They can ride out a two-year market contraction and still be OK.
Fidelis: Here's where I might diverge from conventional wisdom. Six to nine months of living expenses. That's helpful, but it might not be the most useful to someone who's not saving at all. I might say a month's rent. Or get $1,000 saved up and breathe a little. And from there, move on. What do I need to be able to sleep at night?
Then the trick is, what's an emergency? Unfortunately, new tires on the car, not technically an emergency. It never feels like that. Medical issue, loss of a job, hours reduced at work, that kind of stuff is important.
Sanders: I tell clients six to 12 months. My experience with my practice, however, is that people have typically two or three months. I've had clients from the crash of 2007-2008, I had one client finally just get a decent job. She was working at Starbucks. She just got a decent job three weeks ago.
How many credit cards should I have?
Dumonceau: I think everybody needs at least two, because you could have one lost or stolen, and you'd need the other one. I don't know that people need more than two.
Fidelis: Are you playing the credit game or not, right? That's the question. I like one for emergencies or for online purposes, or if you have your system down, so you can get rewards. If you're new to that system, then I might start using a secured credit card to start to build credit. The trick is, it's best to pay it in full every month so you're not paying interest.
Sanders: Three per each adult in the household. One is in the event that there's an identity-theft problem with a card, you want to have another card. If you max out a card, you want to have a card for an emergency. Three credit cards should be sufficient. If your credit is good, you should have enough room to carry yourself in an emergency.
Which debt should I pay first?
Dumonceau: The most expensive. The highest interest-rate one. So usually credit cards are the highest interest-rate ones. Put all the money you can on the highest-interest-rate one first until that one's paid off, then go to the next-highest interest rate. And I do see people send in extra money to the mortgage, and the mortgage costs 3.5 percent, and the credit card might have 12 percent.
Fidelis: What can they take from you? That's the question we like to ask. What are the consequences of not paying? If I don't pay on my house, it could result in foreclosure, and that would impact a lot of parts of my life. Then we go down the line. Credit cards, those are unsecured. Yes, I will damage my credit by not paying those, but they can't immediately take the roof over my head. That has a longer process attached to it. We've seen clients have great success when they call up their creditors and talk to them. Making a deal up front is a lot easier.
Sanders: This is the cliche, but pay off the most expensive debt first. Or try and pay off the balance you can pay off the quickest. Try and focus in on one or two debts. If you've got nine debts out there, you're not going to be able to knock any of them down.
Should I be saving for retirement while I have credit card debt?
Dumonceau: Yes, still save for retirement, at least take advantage of a match if you have a match in your 401(k) at work. Be honest with yourself. Are you ever really going to get that debt paid off? If not, just get started in the retirement savings, because it's much harder.
Fidelis: Yes, because you can't make up for time. When it comes to the time value of money and using compound interest, building interest on top of interest on top of interest, I need time to support that. And that means starting early and saving frequently. I know the mathematical answer is you're saving on interest by paying off your debt. I like to attack the debt very aggressively for sure, but it doesn't mean waiting until the debt is attacked to start saving for retirement - or for an emergency fund for that matter.
Sanders: Yes. Always save something.
If I have some extra money, ha, what should I do with it?
Dumonceau: If you've maxed out your 401(k), I guess maybe a Roth. Once a Roth IRA has been open for five years, one can get the original principal with no penalty. So we oftentimes recommend that everybody - even if you can only afford $100 a month - open a Roth and start your five-year timeline, because after your five years, you can get your original principal with no penalty and no taxes. So your Roth can double as an emergency fund.
Fidelis: If you're looking at a serious windfall like an insurance settlement or an inheritance, you want to wait on that a while and get some advice from a certified financial planner on what you're going to do. If we're talking smaller, like a tax return, some conventional wisdom is you can divide it in two: You're saving half of it and putting half of it toward debt. If you divide it into thirds, you're saving a third, putting a third toward debt and spending a third of it, so you can feel that "win."
Sanders: If you get a bonus at work, see if you can allocate more of that toward a retirement contribution. If you get a tax refund, a lot of times (clients) will use their annual refund for a vacation or a big home expenditure or tuition payments. Try and put it to a good use. It's impractical for me to tell people to invest that money. I will tell you that I have never had a client who has taken their tax refund and put it into an IRA account, which we're allowed to do now. No one has ever done it.
Uh, how do I diversify?
Dumonceau: It takes a little bit of understanding of what you're investing in to know if you're diversified. And that's not easy for the average person, but the average person has probably been introduced to target-date funds, and those accomplish diversification. I personally like the lifestyle funds best. Some people who are very young are still conservative. But those funds are all really well diversified, the name-brand ones, Fidelity or T. Rowe Price or Vanguard.
Fidelis: It really is not having all of your eggs in one basket, so you don't own only stock - or all of one kind of stock. So you're not all large-cap, or developing markets or something like that. That's where I like to have a planner look at it. What is your 401(k) in, what's in your IRA?
Sanders: First look and make sure that we're taking advantage of our retirement plans that are available. Whether we get a tax deduction or not, we always want to start with our retirement planning. If they're maxing that out, talk to an adviser, whether it's a CPA or an investment adviser and get their input. See what they say. It is such a moving target. You can't listen to your dad, you can't listen to your brother-in-law. Or you shouldn't. Seek that professional advice if you can get it.
Should I budget everything? Every dollar?
Dumonceau: Well, I think you definitely want to make sure that you're covering all the biggest categories, but it's fine to have a little bit of fudge in there, and whether the money gets spent on Starbucks or happy hour, it can just be a little bit of pocket change. My experience of 20 years and nine months of doing this stuff is that your budget has to fit your personality. If you're not the kind of person that is going to budget down to the penny, then don't ask that of yourself.
Fidelis: If you have never made a budget, then, yeah, you might want to track every dollar. Once you get into a system that you like, once you can separate out your accounts by expense type, then maybe you don't have to track to the penny because you've already got a system. But you've got to make room for your humanity. What do you want, why do you want it, and are you doing the rational thing? But also the emotional thing - so, the money you can just goof off with.
Sanders: In a vacuum, sure. No, you cannot budget every dollar.
Should I have a will even if I don't have much money?
Dumonceau: Everyone needs a will, but even more important than that, everyone needs powers of attorney, because Colorado state statute will have a will for you if you don't have one, but what if you're incapacitated and can't take care of your own affairs? I had a client whose son was taken ill and the landlord wouldn't even let her in to take care of his dog. In Colorado, we recommend a medical power of attorney and a financial power of attorney.
Fidelis: More than a will, you need an estate plan. You need to get the advice of a professional to see what that looks like. The conventional wisdom on death is yes, we all die.
Sanders: Yes. I do a lot of estate planning for people, and that's the starting point. Even if it's a very simple will.
Should I have life insurance?
Dumonceau: If nobody's depending on you, you know, you're single and you don't have any dependents, you don't need a whole lot of life insurance. Life insurance is for the purpose of replacing your income. If you're the breadwinner in your family, then yeah, you need life insurance, somewhere around 5 to 10 times income. More like 10 times income for people who have young babies. The other funky one that throws people off is, the at-home spouse still does need life insurance, because if the breadwinner loses their at-home spouse, then they'll probably need to hire a nanny. I would still recommend around quarter-million, half a million on an at-home spouse.
Fidelis: It should be part of your overall financial portfolio. We do like insurance. Protecting what you have is a big part of the game.
Sanders: That gets into more - are we single, do we have a family? I think if you're a single person and you don't have dependents, you don't really need life insurance. But as an example, you may want to leave some money to your siblings or your parents. I would say it depends on your family situation.
Should I do my own taxes?
Dumonceau: If they're simple, TurboTax, and the H&R Block one, TaxCut, for the majority of people, those are great. But if somebody has rental properties, if they have a business, if they have a complicated situation, then they are much better off going to a professional tax preparer.
Fidelis: I like to ask people how they value their time. What's it worth to you and what do you know about it and how complex is your situation? With complex situations or if you owe the IRS, you definitely want to be working with a professional.
Sanders: Not everyone needs a CPA or someone with my background. I will tell you that I don't recommend people doing their own taxes, especially with the changes we have now in 2013 and going forward. H&R Block and TurboTax are not the answers.
They can't advise you on your overall financial condition. They can't offer planning and advice going forward. It's looking backwards on the previous year's activity. I'm also looking ahead and making recommendations for the current year, (as in), "You need to make an estimated tax payment," "You need to think about refinancing your house." What other ideas are out there going forward to make next year better?
Should I pay someone to help me with my finances?
Dumonceau: Well, the history of my industry is that we don't serve people well who don't have very much money. People who don't have very much money don't know where to turn to get good financial advice. Our industry really targets the folks that are the millionaires next door and above.
The average baby boomer has $14,000 in retirement savings. For the majority of people, they're not going to get a lot of value out of paying. But there are some fee-based advisers now who specifically target that person, and they only charge a fee and they keep up with them.
Fidelis: Is it someone that's going to try to sell me a product? That can be fine, but are you aware of what theyrare selling you vs. what's available in the market? That's why we partner with the Financial Planning Association of Colorado so you can get access to a CFP that has maybe more training than a lot of others. What do you want them to do? Here at mpowered, we're a nonprofit. We do charge fees in some cases because we want the client to have ownership. We provide accountability and support like a personal trainer would.
Different planners have different ideas of what net worths they want to work with. I work with a lot of people who don't know what their net worth is - and I don't know why they would. Where would they come across that?
Sanders: Even if you're a single person, I could see the need for a little bit of a financial checkup or tune-up. I don't deal with thresholds. If you have a couple of different financial components such as retirement, insurance, mortgage, rent, loans, you should probably every year or so find someone and just pay them even for an hour or two of their time to just go through everything with you, make sure you're not missing anything.


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The FCC was in court last week, defending its recent indecency rulings before an appellate panel of judges. The case at issue was brought by Fox after the network was sanctioned (but not fined) by the agency for a pair of curse words that went "unbleeped" during two different awards shows. The FCC found the broadcast indecent and Fox sued, looking for clarity as to what constitutes indecent material.
Fox is confused because the FCC does not issue clear standards about what is and is not acceptable on TV and radio. The agency believes that doing so would amount to censorship, so they only sanction broadcasters once a show has aired. The obvious problem here is that broadcasters never know in advance if a show will be found indecent; the end result is self-censorship by networks trying to avoid the FCC's wrath.
The justices grilled both parties to a crispy golden brown (watch the video at C-SPAN) and showed tremendous skepticism toward many of the FCC's claims. Because the agency's powers to regulate indecency rarely receive a court hearing, the case could be an important one. It's too early to know how the court will rule (the decision is not expected for several more months), but the ruling could curtail the FCC's power to regulate broadcast content.
If it does so, it won't quite be the Wild West—the networks will still be accountable to their public. Groups like the Parents Television Council (which is by some accounts responsible for 99 percent of FCC indecency complaints) will shift their focus from the FCC to the networks, who will then be on the receiving end of e-mail and letter campaigns, boycotts, and punditry whenever they show material that some consider objectionable.
Given that YouTube, webcasts, and cable television all go largely unregulated by the government, is it only a matter of time before the agency loses its sanctioning power over the major broadcast networks? Or will it convince the judiciary that over-the-air broadcasters need special government oversight? Given the direction that things are moving in the industry, it may not really matter either way; unregulated distribution channels (web broadcasts, cable channels, satellite radio, BitTorrent, etc.) are exploding. The major networks will simply avoid FCC problems by censoring over-the-air broadcasts and making the unedited material available online (as NBC recently did with the SNL joke song Dick in a Box").
The FCC will eventually need to 1) call "uncle" and devote its resources to other regulatory problems, 2) start regulating all sorts of new distribution channels, or 3) continue to regulate over-the-air broadcasters even as they lose relevance and simply post objectionable material online. We're going with option three unless the court forces the FCC's hand.


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two years after Ohio became a state, the federal government finalized treaties with local American Indians. The reserve was surveyed and parceled into rough 5-mile square blocks. The Bronson and Hoadley families of Waterbury, Connecticut pooled together $20,087 to purchase a township. On April 4, 1807, they drew Township 5 N, Range 15 W from a random selection of townships in the reserve, purchasing the land sight-unseen.
Source Wikipedia
Columbia Station
Columbia Township History
Why is Columbia Station used as our mailing address and not Columbia Township? The Zone Improvement Program (ZIP) was created in 1963. Before 1963, townships would use their post office name to help direct mail to the right post office in the state when there was more than one township with the same name. In Ohio there are two Columbia Townships.
In 1874 the train station was built on Station Road. The post office was inside the train station. The train station was named (you guessed it) Columbia Station. Mail that was sent to Columbia Township and surrounding areas was addressed to Columbia Station. Today Columbia Station is the US Post Office on Royalton road.
Below is the history of the mail delivery system in Columbia Township provided by the Columbia Historical Society.
Columbia Township Mail delivery and Post Offices
Columbia resident Benoni Adams was the first to deliver mail to Columbia Township in 1809 and he had a route that took him from Cleveland to Maumee.
The first Post Office opened in 1819 and was located in the general store on the south west corner of roads we now know as East River Rd ( Rt. 252) and Royalton Rd. ( Rt. 82). As there were already at least two other Columbia's in Ohio another name had to be chosen. The people of Columbia Township picked Copokah an Indian word translated as rocky river. In papers sent from Washington the word was miss written as Copopo*, and the error was never corrected. The records show this post office was used from June 1824 until February 1904.
The railroads came through Columbia in 1850. Mail began to be delivered to the station and post office near Marshall Laird's on Root Rd. In 1874 a railroad depot was built a little east of Station Rd. Mail was now delivered at this Columbia Station, Lorain County. Old timers remembered the incoming mail would be tossed from the mail car. A person in the mail car would catch the out going mail with a hook from a rod on a pole where it was hung. (Most of the time) When there had been passengers getting on and off the train, the bags were handed back and forth.
In 1958 the post office at Station Rd. was abandoned and a new building built just north of Rt. 82 on the east side. Just when areas outside of Columbia Township began to have mail delivered from the Columbia Station is not readily available. Though people could go and pick mail up, one letter from a Civil War soldier from Hard Scrabble (Liverpool Township) writes that he is sending some belongings to his family by way of Columbia Station.
By 1990 a new post office was built on Royalton Rd with a service area beyond Columbia Township. It is still called Columbia Station, Ohio. But mail is no longer delivered by train to Columbia Station. In fact it would take an old map to find Columbia Station located on Station Rd. by the rail road crossing. And that, residents of Columbia Township is why your mail is addressed Columbia Station, not Columbia Township.
*Copopo is the way it is written in the Williams Bros. History of Lorain County however cancelation stamps show Copopa.


text: Free Plan Do Study Act PowerPoint Template is a PowerPoint template inspired by the PDSA cycle or PDSA model. PDSA stands for Plan-Do-Study-Act. You can download this free PDSA template for PowerPoint with a simple PDSA cycle diagram in the slide design that you can copy to your PowerPoint presentations.