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Nevada Energy Star Partners Demonstrate Peak Performance
Las Vegas may appear balmy and inviting with its sparkling pools and swaying palm trees, but those who live in Neon City know the truth: It's too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer.
Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of homes that were built during an amazing 50 years of rapid growth in the Southwest do not incorporate modern advances in energy performance to accommodate the wild swings of desert climate. As temperatures climb to 110°F in the summer, many homes leak large amounts of cooled air through gaps in ducts, roofs, windows, and doors. And when the frigid north wind drops the temperature below freezing in the winter, heated air escapes, leaving living rooms and bedrooms uncomfortably cold and drafty. While Las Vegans know their climate, they may not realize that they are paying to heat and cool the great outdoors.
The dramatic temperature shifts in the high-desert climate make Las Vegas an ideal place for homeowners who are looking to make their homes more comfortable and to save substantially on their energy bills. Funded in part by DOE's Building America program, the Building America Retrofit Alliance is working with the Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners–Green Alliance (NESP–Green Alliance), and with Better Building Performance, a Las Vegas company, to upgrade two typical homes top to bottom. Their goal has been to show homeowners and remodelers how easy and effective energy performance upgrades can be.
For the past 11 years, as a volunteer-driven nonprofit organization, NESP-Green Alliance has encouraged energy efficiency and resource preservation, and this year, EPA honored the organization with its 2011 Leadership in Housing Award for ENERGY STAR. Part of its mission has been to recognize and promote the companies, organizations, and individuals that support these efforts. NESP-Green Alliance also organizes informational meetings, seminars, and special events that promote community awareness, education, and connectivity for developing a more-sustainable Nevada.
Demonstrating Energy Efficiency in Two Model Homes
The collaborative demonstration project cited above consists of extensive upgrades to two Las Vegas homes. (For details on the upgrades, see "Deep Energy Retrofit Training—Sierra Hills Residence" and "Deep Energy Retrofit Training—Carmen Boulevard Residence.") The Sierra, in the northwest Las Vegas Valley, is targeted to achieve 30% energy savings. The Carmen, about half a mile away, is targeted for a 50% reduction in energy use. Both homes are part of the City of Las Vegas Neighborhood Stabilization program; the goal of this program is to maintain neighborhood quality in the face of the area's unfortunate status as the epicenter of the national foreclosure crisis.
Completed in mid-February of 2012, the two homes provide a laboratory for construction and rehabilitation techniques. They demonstrate to Las Vegas homeowners—and, eventually, to homeowners nationwide—the real-world, bottom-line benefits of energy and water efficiency upgrades, especially for people on a limited income.
The question that many homeowners bring to NESP-Green Alliance is simply this: Are these upgrades achievable and affordable? The answer is yes. With these demo homes, NESP-Green Alliance and our partners can show homeowners cost-
effective ways to make their own homes more comfortable, safe, durable, and energy efficient.
Demonstrating Partnerships
A key component of the demonstration project at all levels is collaboration among diverse organizations and government agencies. Partners include DOE's Building America Retrofit Alliance (BARA) and the Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), which is documenting the efficiency upgrades. Locally, NESP–Green Alliance is joined by Better Building Performance, the City of Las Vegas, HomeFree Nevada, Green Chips, the Southern Nevada Water Authority, NV Energy, Southwest Gas, and several building contractors.
This project demonstrates the true essence of an alliance. By working with our collaborative partners, nationally and locally, we can have a much greater impact on improving residential energy efficiency than we could if each organization set out to do it alone. That may be our greatest contribution to the national conversation about ways to achieve real energy efficiency. The demonstration project is, in many ways, a soup-to-nuts operation, which explains why there are so many partners. It took the national agencies and nonprofit groups, including DOE's Building America program, to help get the project off the ground.
Manufacturers have donated the materials for the renovation, while students—many of them contractors' employees—have donated their labor, as part of the educational program described below. CARB, managed by Steven Winter Associates, internationally recognized experts on energy efficiency in new and existing buildings of all kinds, is providing the engineering and design for the upgrades.
Richard "Rick" Chitwood, a California-based expert on residential building performance, has been essential in training local builders and contractors to implement the upgrades in the demonstration project. Founder of Chitwood Energy Management, Incorporated, Chitwood is chairman of the California Building Performance Contractors Association Technical Committee and has written for numerous publications on energy efficiency issues.
Chitwood worked directly with the contractors in the demonstration program. Contractors' employees received hands-on training in HVAC systems for high-performance homes and in insulation installation best practices. Employees also completed a comprehensive workshop on home sealing, ventilation, moisture control, and combustion safety. "Learning by doing—there is no better way," says Chitwood. "I found there was, and continues to be, a high level of readiness among the contractors and their employees," Chitwood says. "They were ready and willing to collaborate with organizations and each other to succeed. We will look back at the readiness and high level of organizational collaboration as essential elements in this program."
The willingness of the contractors and their employees to learn from others is moving the dial past the status quo. Students in most training programs typically experience a 90-day lag between taking the training and using that training in the field. One measure of the success of our training program is that the contractors have been able to put their employees into the field almost immediately, incorporating classroom skills with hands-on application to the model homes.
My firm, Better Building Performance, has provided direct oversight of the project and the workers on both of the demonstration homes. "The training sessions with Rick Chitwood were important to the field installers, as they were able to learn on their feet while in the field and to measure their own performance, giving them the confidence to do this work in other homes," says Brandon Kephart, president of Better Building Performance. "With Rick's experience and knowledge, he was able to demonstrate that once they are in the home, they can enhance their software modeling strategy and performance results with field experience."
Kephart, who has overseen the weatherization of more than 3,000 homes in Las Vegas, predicts that the modeling software used on the demonstration homes will help them achieve the efficiency targets of 30% and 50% reduction in energy use. "We're confident that these homes will exceed the projections through the combination of excellent modeling and field experience," Kephart says. The contractor who understands building science can recognize structural opportunities in the actual home that don't fit into the checklist of the software, and that's a gap that the industry is working to fill.
Deep Energy Retrofit Training—Carmen Boulevard Residence
Many energy features are difficult to model accurately, since modelers are often required to estimate the performance of specific energy features. Here are some examples that we found in this residence:
- The framing on this home had many wall cavities that were open to the vented attic, turning what should be interior patrician walls into exterior surfaces.
- The ceiling insulation on this home was kraft-faced fiberglass batts that were installed with inset stapling. This installation technique creates a live air space between the ceiling drywall and the insulation. This convective airflow cavity can reduce insulation performance by 80%.
- This home has large attic knee walls. The problem described under point 2 above is even more significant on these vertical surfaces. In addition, attic knee walls are often not included at all in the energy model.
- The HVAC supply grille delivery velocity in this home is very low. Low delivery velocity creates temperature stratification in both summer and winter. This means that the system must run much longer to provide comfort in the occupied part of the room. The high sidewall supply grilles in this home deliver hot air at a low velocity. This hot air stays high in the room and does little to make us (and our cold feet) comfortable.
The correction of hard-to-model items found during the retrofit are likely to improve this home's performance by 60–80%.
Project Redesign
The instructor's field experience led to a system redesign that simplified the mechanical system. Field experience teaches us repeatedly that installing a system well is hard—very hard. To make a mechanical AC system as easy as possible to install, the system must be as simple as possible. Keeping it simple not only improves the odds of a satisfactory installation but also reduces maintenance costs.
The simplification redesign included
- eliminating the forced-air zoning system;
- reducing the number of supply grilles from nine to six by eliminating the supply grilles in the small rooms; and
- changing the duct design to a radial design, with each supply duct running back to the supply plenum.
Field Redesign
There were two significant field redesigns based on the more complete body of information that becomes available when the installers start to spend more time at the home and are thinking through the installation details. The installers gained the following new information:
- There was 1 inch of foam under the exterior stucco. This made the wall's actual thermal performance much better than the modeled performance.
- The U-value used in the system design was 0.47, but the new windows will have a U-value of 0.29.
- The door to the master bedroom is a 5-foot double-door set.
- The kitchen/dining knee-wall location on the mechanical system sketch was misdrawn; it shows the kitchen area as being larger than it actually is.
This additional information made it possible to further simplify the heating-and-cooling system. The return in the master bedroom was eliminated, since the 5-foot bedroom door undercut will allow a large-enough return air path. The supply grille in the kitchen was eliminated, since the kitchen supply grille and the dining room supply grille would have only been 6 feet apart.
The final performance testing showed that both of these field redesigns were successful, since the pressure across the closed master bedroom doors was only 0.9 Pa, and there was no temperature difference between the kitchen and the dining room.
Envelope Performance
The performance of the envelope was tested with a blower door and an infrared camera. The home's infiltration rate is currently at 4.5 ACH50, but it will come down to around 3 ACH50 when all the retrofit measures are finished. Wall thermal performance is enhanced by having 1 inch of foam under the original stucco, which was installed 28 years ago.
The home is ventilated with an energy recovery ventilator. Spot exhaust ventilation is provided in both bathrooms, with a 20-minute off delay.
Mechanical System Performance
A detailed list of the air-sealing performance measurements taken and the mechanical system start-up and commissioning performance measurements is posted on the Home Energy web site at homeenergy.org. Here are some of the highlights:
- System fan energy is only 140 watts for
870 CFM of delivered airflow (0.16 watt per CFM).
- System static pressure is 0.27 inch water column, or about one-third of the typical
0.81 inch WC.
- A 3.5-ton air conditioner was replaced with a new 1.4-ton air conditioner
- The measured net delivered Btu matched the manufacturer's performance data.
- The system uses only 1,610 watts (a little more than a hair dryer uses) to heat and cool this 1,521 ft2 home.
- Duct leakage to the outside is zero. Total duct leakage is 23 CFM25.
Consumer Education and Financing Partners
After the demonstration project is completed, the contributions of HomeFree Nevada, a local 501(c)3 nonprofit, will be critical to the success of Nevada's Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. With support from local municipalities and the state's Office of Energy, Nevada residents can qualify for rebates and financing to help offset the cost of improvements to their homes. To qualify for this financing, improvements must lower the homeowner's energy costs at least 20%.
HomeFree Nevada is the statewide sponsor for Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES), a national program jointly sponsored by EPA and DOE. As the statewide sponsor of HPwES, HomeFree Nevada takes a comprehensive whole-house approach that provides training for contractors and that reaches out to homeowners with awareness and education campaigns, and incentives and financing for efficiency upgrades.
Denee Evans, HomeFree Nevada executive director, says that the collaboration with NESP-Green Alliance will help to educate the community about the benefits of making homes more comfortable and more cost-effective. "HomeFree Nevada will point to these pilot projects as hands-on examples of what individual homeowners can do to improve the quality of life in their homes and save money in the process" says Evans.
Ultimately, the success of Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners will be determined not by the energy saved in the Carmen and the Sierra but by the number of homeowners who upgrade their own houses. Increasing the demand for upgrades through public education will help promote the success of the program as well as providing ways for homeowners to afford the work. Fortunately, one of the other partners in the collaboration has helped to create a low-interest loan program for home performance upgrades. Green Chips, a nonprofit agency created through a public-private partnership, has designed a program of loans of up to $7,500 with rates as low as 2.4%, offered through the local Nevada State Bank. The loans, combined with tax credits, provide financing for owners whose homes are projected to achieve a 20% energy efficiency improvement through the initial modeling. It's a signature loan; no equity is required. The homeowner's savings on the utility bill are redirected to the payment of the loan, making this a win-win solution.
Green Chips has received support from some of the biggest employers in the Las Vegas Valley; major supporters include the City of Las Vegas, Harrah's, and MGM Resorts. Through these employers' internal communication channels and via an online portal, Green Chips plans to reach thousands of residents with the sustainability message and inform them of the financial options for creating a more energy-efficient home.
Deep Energy Retrofit Training—Sierra Hills Residence
Many energy features are difficult to model accurately, since modelers are often required to estimate the performance of specific energy features. In this home, a very easy envelope improvement was not modeled—moving the pressure boundary to the bottom truss cord above the bathroom and hall. This simple change brings both the attic knee walls and the ducts inside.
Project Redesign
On this project, and typically on most projects, the system design changed only because certain HVAC equipment was unavailable. The project started out with a ductless mini-split heat pump system with four terminal units. A mini-split was not available, so the design was changed to a split-system heat pump with four supply grilles and ducts in the attic, and a condensing unit on the north side of the house, outside the kitchen.
Field Redesign
There was a significant field redesign based on the more complete body of information that becomes available when the installers start to spend more time at the home and are thinking through the installation details. The installers gained the following new information:
- There was no attic space above the bedroom 2 closet, where the supply and return ducts were to be located.
- There was not enough space for the condensing unit outside the kitchen.
- The pressure boundary could be easily relocated to the bottom cord of the scissor trusses. This relocation simplifies the ceiling insulation installation, brings the attic knee walls inside the thermal and pressure boundaries, and creates a space for the ducts to be located inside the thermal and pressure boundaries.
- There was 1 inch of foam under the exterior stucco. This made the wall's actual thermal performance much better than the modeled performance.
- The U-value used in the system design was 0.47, but the new windows will have a U-value of 0.29.
This additional information made it possible to improve and simplify the heating-and-cooling system. The air handler was moved from the bedroom 2 closet to the hall closet. The condensing unit was put on the roof, where the old package unit had been located. Eliminating the supply grille in the kitchen reduced the number of supply grilles from four to three. Eliminating the kitchen supply grille was possible for two reasons.
- The kitchen is very open to the living room.
- The thermal envelope is better—that is, thermal loads are smaller—than we originally thought. This is because there is foam under the stucco, because window performance is better than expected, and because we relocated the envelope to the bottom truss cord above the hall bath and the hall. This eliminated the attic knee walls and created space for the ducts to be inside.
The final performance testing showed that the field redesign was successful, since there was no temperature difference between the kitchen and the living room.
Envelope Performance
The performance of the envelope was tested with a blower door and an infrared camera. Two infrared videos, with natural pressures and depressurized, were made. The home's infiltration rate is currently at 4 ACH50, but it will be down around 3 ACH50 when all the retrofit measures (windows, doors, and tub surrounds) are finished. Wall thermal performance was enhanced by having 1 inch of foam under the original stucco, which was installed 24 years ago.
The home is ventilated with an energy recovery ventilator. Spot exhaust ventilation is provided in both bathrooms, with a 20-minute off delay.
Mechanical System Performance
A detailed list of the air-sealing performance measurements taken and the mechanical system start-up and commissioning performance measurements is posted on the HomeEnergy.org web site. Here are some of the highlights:
- Simple system: three supply grilles, no return air system.
- MERV 16 filtration (HEPA), 4 inch pleated, is installed in the air handler filter slot.
- System fan energy is only 185 watts for 1,000 CFM of delivered airflow (0.18 watt per CFM).
- System static pressure is 0.13 inch water column, without the supply grilles installed. The final static will be about 0.24 inch water column after the grilles are installed, or about one-third of the typical 0.81 inches WC.
- A 3-ton air conditioner was replaced with a new 2-ton air conditioner.
- The measured net delivered Btu exceeded the manufacturer's performance data by 4%.
- The system uses only 1,535 watts (or a little more than a hair dryer uses) to heat and cool this 1,130 ft2 home.
- Duct leakage to the outside is zero. Total duct leakage is 17 CFM25.
Models for Neighborhood Stabilization
Another goal of the collaborative demonstration project is to make homeowners aware of the energy savings they may be missing out on in their own homes. NESP-Green Alliance will reach out to southern Nevada homeowners in 2012, and the demonstration homes will be open for public viewing through May.
The model homes themselves will serve as centers for disseminating information on utility rebates, loans, state rebates, tax credits, and other opportunities to help homeowners and contractors make efficiency upgrades. Homeowners want to improve their homes' performance. What we are doing is helping them to discover the methods introducing the many financial tools that are available, and lining them up with qualified contractors. Ultimately they will be successful in reducing their energy consumption, and they too will become part of the big-picture solution to our nation's energy crisis.
This project demonstrates energy efficiencies that can be realized by all of our neighbors—and that, honestly, is what excites the NESP-Green Alliance partners. This project is largely about awareness—awareness among home performance contractors, but awareness among consumers
as well.
learn more
To learn more about Nevada ENERGY STAR Partners–Green Alliance, go to www.Thinkenergystar.com.
Building America Retrofit Alliance Efficient Energy Remodeling web site: www.barateam.org/eer.
Tim Whitright, development manager for the Las Vegas Neighborhood Stabilization program, sees a long-term payoff for residents and city government. "Ultimately, [energy
efficiency] is going to help people stay in their homes," he says. "Cutting the cost of utilities makes these neighborhoods more affordable and comfortable. A stable neighborhood is more attractive to new residents and investors. That translates into sustainability at all levels."
Darren Harris, copresident of Building Media, Incorporated, the firm representing the Building America Retrofit Alliance, says the partnerships will have a positive impact on neighborhoods in Las Vegas and across the United States. "The BARA team is focused on creating a more sustainable future by helping to improve the energy performance of existing homes, using innovations created by DOE's Building America program," Harris says. "The Sierra and Carmen homes are test beds that allow us to examine certain performance goals and then communicate the results to a broad audience. The net result of the energy improvements will be used to create tools and resources for professionals and consumers, so that they can retrofit homes to create peak energy performance."
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A Green Tip from Harvard Law School energy manager Eric Potkin
Devices like televisions, microwaves, scanners, and printers use standby power, even when off.
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Students weatherize Harvard's Office for the Arts and Office of Career Services in an event sponsored by the FAS Green Program, Green Building Services, and the Office for Sustainability.
In about four hours, participants reduced the Freshman Dean's Office's energy usage by 30%.
Download this poster to remind office mates to unplug electronics and appliances not in use.


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Matthew T. Mangino
GateHouse News Media
June 6, 2014
Twenty-five years ago, Lawrence Sherman, currently the director of the Cambridge Institute of Criminology at Cambridge University and a distinguished university professor at the University of Maryland's Department of Criminology, told the New York Times that the risk of being killed by a stray bullet "is increasingly a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.''
If that includes the breakfast table, a bus, picnic or office building, then anyplace can be the wrong place. Last June, in the state of Washington, a stray bullet killed 23-year-old Allyssa Smith during a family picnic. Smith was at her parents' home for Father's Day when a stray bullet fired from a rifle rigged like a machine took her life.
Last year, a 14-year-old girl on a New York City bus, D'Asia Robinson, had just left a friend's birthday party when she was killed by a stray bullet.
Earlier this year, 5-year-old Payton Benson was killed by a stray bullet as she ate breakfast inside her Omaha, Nebraska, home. Police responded to reports of a hail of gunfire around 9:45 a.m. about a block away from Benson's home. Police found Benson in her home critically wounded.
Last week, Dr. Betty Howard, a Chicago teacher, was killed when she was struck by a stray bullet. Police said Howard was visiting a real estate office around 5:30 p.m. when she was struck by bullets that pierced the building's wall.
Stray bullets take a senseless toll on neighborhoods. Yet public health officials know little about the phenomenon. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracks accidental shootings, but they do not account for harm caused by stray bullets, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Several years ago a researcher was not satisfied with the lack of information on the scope and magnitude of harm caused by stray bullets. Dr. Garen Wintemute, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of California-Davis, and fellow researchers, using a single year of media reports of shootings from 2008 and 2009, found stray bullets injured or killed 317 people. According to the Post-Dispatch, more than 80 percent of the victims had no idea they were in danger until they were shot, and 40 percent were at home. One in five died, making stray bullets just as lethal as those bullets that strike their intended targets.
This week, Wintemute told NPR that violence is often thought of as disproportionately affecting young men. The victims of stray bullets, however, are incidental to that violence and tend to be proportionate with the general population. He found that more than 30 percent of the victims of stray bullet shootings are children younger than 14. Males and females were affected about equally.
"[It's] not the age group that we're used to thinking about, not the gender that we're used to thinking about when we think about violence," Wintemute told NPR.
There are a number of ways that stray bullets injure or kill innocent people. Every year with the arrival of hunting season, there are stories of stray bullets causing harm. Even celebratory gunfire can be lethal — shot into the air a bullet must return to the ground. However, 60 percent of the incidents occurred as the result of intentional gunfire.
Sherman's 25-year-old research noted that those who live in poor neighborhoods, where a significant number of shootings occur, seemed to be at greater risk. In Chicago, outside a school building with "Don't Shoot" stickers plastered to the walls, the principal, Sherryl Moore-Ollie, recently told the Chicago Tribune when asked about her students' reaction to violence, "They've been desensitized … [t]hey hear shooting every day."
Unfortunately, some of those bullets go astray, and every one of those students is the potential object of a random act of violence.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His book "The Executioner's Toll, 2010" was recently released by McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter at @MatthewTMangino.
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This week – by sheer coincidence I am sure – the Weekly Genealogy Blogging Prompt (#12) from Thomas MacEntee's Genea-Bloggers group and the Saturday Night Genealogy Fun assignment from Randy Seaver of Genea-Musings blog both have the same theme: use your blog to work on a brickwall.
Though I have many, I will focus on one that has bothered me for years: George L. Obaugh/Orebaugh of Augusta Co., Virginia.
To give some information on this line: my grandmother's grandfather was Owen B. Obaugh, born 4 May 1884 in Rockingham Co., Virginia, to James A. and Mary Jane (Propes) Obaugh. James A. Obaugh was born 27 March 1854 in Augusta Co., Virginia, according to the minister's return on his marriage to Mary Jane on 9 Sep 1880 in the same county. Mary Jane was the daughter of David and Rebecca Virginia (Rusmisel) Propes.
James A. Obaugh was the third child of George L. and Mary (Breneman) Obaugh. George L. Obaugh (also called Orebaugh in some records) married Mary Breneman by 1850, when they appear together in the 1850 federal census of Augusta County (as George S. Orebough). George L. and Mary Obaugh are also named in Mary's father Abraham Breneman's will in Augusta County in 1847.
Also in Augusta County in 1850 was a George A. Orebaugh of roughly the same age, indicating the presence of at least two lines, my own and that of George A. There was an older man named Adam Orebaugh, living with his (presumed) son Adam's family. It is unknown whether this Adam was of the George A. or George L. Orebaugh/Obaugh line.
I have also checked the Augusta County deed indexes, and have found several involving George L., but none involving him and another Orebaugh/Obaugh. George L. and Mary both apparently died between 1900 and 1910, though their death certificates have not yet been located.
George L. Obaugh (also called Orebaugh) was born ca. 1822 (acc. to 1850 census), 1823 (acc. to 1870 census), 1824 (acc. to 1880 census), or 1828 (acc. to 1900 census) in Virginia. Before 1847, he married Mary Breneman, daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth Breneman. He died after 1900, probably in Augusta Co., Virginia.
George L. and Mary (Breneman) Obaugh had the following children:
1. Samuel Obaugh, b. ca. 1848.
2. Sarah Obaugh, b. ca. 1851
3. James A. Obaugh, b. 27 Mar 1854
4. William Obaugh, b. ca. 1857
Anyone who has this family in their ancestry, please contact me!
Now, the second part of this blog is to locate records groups that may help me break down this brickwall, in the Family History Library Catalog. A few that I see that might help are listed below:
File index to loose papers, 1745-1952
Augusta County (Virginia). County Clerk (Main Author)
Notes: Microfilm of originals at the Augusta County courthouse, Staunton, Virginia.
Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1953
1 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.
Personal property tax lists of Augusta County, 1782-1851
Virginia. Commissioner of the Revenue (Augusta County) (Main Author)
Microfilm of original records at Virginia State Library in Richmond, Virginia.
Augusta County had two tax lists per year. There was not tax collected for the year of 1808, the General Assembly did not pass tax collecting legislation for that year. Tax lists give the name of the person being taxed or tithed, type and amount of taxable property, amount of tax, and the county statistics.
Richmond [Virginia] : Virginia State Library, 1986
7 microfilm reel ; 35 mm.
Now, I'll be honest – I will probably not order these microfilms from the Family History Library. Instead, since I live in Maryland, I will likely take the trip (2+ hours driving) down to the Library of Virginia in Richmond, Va., which serves as the state archives. There are sure to be additional records available there that the FHL does not have listed.


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Pet word said mainly by politicians and other power-thirsty species indigenous of the United States of America, often for pure demagogy, and based on the terribly false belief that "America" is synonymous with the USA, and not with the whole American continent. Less war and more geoography, for Fox's sake!
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Something witty to retort with after George W. Bush says something stupid, i.e. every day.
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A sub-genre of films released in the aftermath of September 11th 2001, featuring heroic American troops overcoming "terrorists" and various "evil-doers" in the fight for "freedom". See Black Hawk Down. This has also passed over into computer games with the release of America's 10 most Wanted.
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A dual biography focuses on the creation of The Mikado
The Fabulous Feud of Gilbert & Sullivan. By Jonah Winter. Pictures by Richard Egielski. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, 40 pp., $16.99. Ages 4–6.
By Janice Harayda
Why do publishers bombard us with book-and-CD editions of books that don't need them and fail to issue them when they might do some good? Does anybody really need that book-and-CD edition of Curious George Goes Camping? C'mon.
But a disk could have added a lot this slightly fictionalized dual biography of the librettist W.S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan, which focuses the storied feud between the two men that ended when they reconciled to create their most popular light opera, The Mikado. Nobody can argue that the music involved – The flowers that bloom in the spring, / Tra la! – is too adult for children. So the omission of a CD seems mainly intended to avoid copyright fees or pander to the library market, where the book might sell fewer copies if it included a disk likely to disappear quickly from a pocket.
As it is, Jonah Winter plays Gilbert to Richard Egielski's Sullivan in The Fabulous Feud of Gilbert & Sullivan. Winter tells a story that, if lively, gets much of its energy from hyper-italicizing and the use of capital letters and exclamation points. "I refuse to write any more music for Mr. Gilbert's ridiculous operas," Sullivan says. "It's always the same ridiculous story, over and over over again!" Winter also invests his tale with a whiff of didacticism as he pursues two goals — telling the story of the rift and making a point: "Sometimes even the best friends fight."
But Egielski supplies the missing music with bold paintings that, like Maurice Sendak's, evoke a mood not through intensely detailed facial expressions or body language but the imaginative use of such elements as tone, color, whimsy and framing. Winter's opening lines suggest the appeal of Gilbert and Sullivan's operettas in their day:
"There was a time when jolly old England was not so jolly. Children worked in factories. Queen Victoria frowned. Everything was grim. Everything was dark – except … in the make-believe kingdom of Topsy-Turvydom."
Egielski illustrates this passage with a wonderfully balanced two-page spread that evokes the setting through cutaway images of multistory buildings in the rain. On the left-hand page, children work in a sweatshop as a coronet-topped Victoria rides in a carriage on cobblestones below them. On the right-hand page, just across the street, an actress puts on makeup as theatergoers approach the Savoy with umbrellas raised against oversized raindrops. This is late-Victorian London, rendered in terms a preschooler can grasp. And on it goes in the book, which reaches its climax with a wordless spread showing a scene from a The Mikado that blazes with sunny colors thrown into high relief by the dank weather on the first pages.
The Fabulous Feud of Gilbert & Sullivan may have its strongest appeal for Savoyards who want to inspire in a love of Gilbert and Sullivan in children. But unlike many books driven by similar motives, this one has enough drama that it isn't mainly an appeal to parental vanity and pretense. And an author's note at the end includes a link to a fantastic Gilbert & Sullivan Web site that has the full text and lets you listen to all the music of the operettas by the pair. (To hear any song from The Mikado music, click on "Mikado," "MIDI Files," the title of a song, and the speaker icon.) So even if there's no CD, you can punctuate readings by singing merrily: "The flowers that bloom in the spring, / Tra la / Have nothing to do with the case." For some adults, the link to so much beloved music might in itself be worth the cost of the book.
Best line/picture: An example of Eglielski's imaginative use of frames: On one two-page spread he places his images in two circles against a black background, as though you were looking at them through opera glasses.
Worst line/picture: Winter uses British English inconsistently. He writes "dreamt" instead of "dreamed" but "Savoy Theater" instead of "Savoy Theatre."
Published: April 2009
Furthermore: Egielski won the 1987 Caldecott Medal for his art for Arthur Yorinks's Hey, Al. He and Yorinks also collaborated on the new picture book, Homework. Winter lives in Brooklyn, NY. Egielski lives in Milford, NJ. Contact the authors c/o Author Mail, Scholastic Books, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Reviews of children's books appear every Saturday on One-Minute Book Reviews, a site for people who like to read but dislike hype and review inflation.
© 2009 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


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Former GE CEO Jack Welch says on AC360: "I've got a tweet out there that I stand by."
Anderson Cooper asks Welch.."in your heart do you somehow believe they cooked the books?" He says in response.."I don't really know, but I do know this, that these numbers are implausible."
Anderson interviews former GE CEO Jack Welch about his Twitter comment that's creating a lot of buzz. It was posted moments after the U.S. Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September for the first time since Pres. Obama took office in 2009.
Post by: Anderson Cooper
Filed under: 2012 Election • Jack Welch • Job Market • Keeping Them Honest • Unemployment
Get the facts, Jack!
Jack Welch as General Electric CEO knows that when is time to put out economical data, always is done with honesty and integrity. His skepticism on the monthly unemployment report, make me believe that during his tenure he had the opportunity to cook the books, he got the experience and now explains to all of us the way to do it.No wonder he was not called back as CEO for General Electric.
• He
Let's remember this is the same Jack Welch who 'cooked' GE's taxes so GE pays none, revealing the much-revered GE as perhaps the best example yet of massive corporate welfare. As in sports, management of partisan frustration separates the classy from the classless. Someone like Welch taking a Bachmann-like shot is sadly embarrassing. Aging, for better or worse, often closes the gap between heart and mouth.
I'm very disappointed in Jack Welsh. His points on the may have some validly, I don't know I'm not a statistician, the point here is the trend. They weren't questioning the numbers the horrible results supported their message. There is something good now happening in the American economy! The Canadian has delivered unexpectedly high job creation as well, no doubt driven by the American economy. Are the Chicago politicians controlling the Canadian depart of labour statisticians as well?
Great interview with Jack Welch. An old- fashioned hang-tough guy-my new hero!
It is amazing how Ideology drives the numbers into the ditch and not the other way around!
Anderson Cooper goes beyond the headlines to tell stories from many points of view, so you can make up your own mind about the news. Tune in weeknights at 8 and 10 ET on CNN.
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Critics have all but ignored the obvious religious motifs in Emma Donoghue's novel Room, including its many references to God, Jesus, and Christian saints. But Donoghue talked about the spiritual framework for her bestseller in an Economist interview about the book, which tells the story of a mother and her 5-year-old son held captive in a backyard garden shed. Here is an excerpt from her comments:
The Economist: Both Ma and Jack pray and, especially in the case of Ma, find comfort in their faith. How does faith figure in to Room?
Emma Donoghue: I've always been religiously inclined but it doesn't come up in most of my books. I always knew it would be central to Room because prisoners cling to whatever tatters of faith they've got: look at those Chilean miners and their daily prayer groups. Between you and me, I'm not sure how literally Ma believes in all that, but it certainly makes sense that she would have taken whatever vague Christian framework she had and offered it to Jack as part of her system for making meaning of their days, and keeping hope alive. Kids delight in "magical thinking," whether in the form of the Tooth Fairy or the saints: whether you see these as comforting lies or eternal verities, they are part of how we help kids make sense of the world. I think that's why the religious element of Room does not seem to bother non-religious readers; they can just put it on a par with Santa. But for me, Room is a peculiar (and no doubt heretical) battle between Mary and the Devil for young Jesus. If God sounds absent from that triangle, that's because I think for a small child God's love is represented, and proved, by mother-love.
You can read the full interview on the Prospero blog for the Economist. And you can read more about the religious motifs in a One-Minute Book Reviews review of Room and in a reading group guide to the novel.


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It is our goal to keep your mouth healthy, your teeth fully functional, and your smile bright — and we are proud of all the services we offer to do exactly that. At the same time, we want you to understand all that modern dentistry in general has to offer you. To that end, we have assembled a first-rate dental library in which you can find a wealth of information on various dental topics, including:
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If you want to replace a missing or failing tooth with a state-of-the-art dental implant (watch dental implant video), your dentist will first need to make sure that you have sufficient bone in your jaw to anchor the implant. This is true no matter what type of tooth is being replaced. However, if it is an upper back tooth and there is not enough bone under the gum where the implant needs to go, the base of the implant could end up poking through an air space (located to the side of the nose) called a sinus cavity. Since you can't anchor a dental implant to air, this presents a problem — but it is one that can often be solved with a minor in-office surgical procedure called a "sinus membrane lift."
A sinus membrane lift, or sinus augmentation, involves adding bone to fill in the bottom of that air space, essentially raising the floor of the sinus cavity. Why wouldn't there be enough bone there already? For some people, it's simply a matter of how large their sinus cavities are, and their shape. In other cases, bone has actually been lost from the area. For example, if your tooth has been missing a long time, the bone that used to surround it may have begun to deteriorate. Bone in general needs stimulation to stay strong; in the case of the jawbone, that stimulation comes from the teeth. When teeth are lost, the bone loses stimulation and the body ceases to make new bone cells in that area. This leads to a reduction in bone volume and density. Also, if your tooth loss was due to periodontal (gum) disease, your tooth-supporting bone may have been reduced as a result of the disease. No matter what the reason is for insufficient bone, a sinus membrane lift can create more bone where it is needed.
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Prior to scheduling surgery, your dentist will assess the shape, location, and health of the sinus using x-ray imaging. Your options for anesthesia will also be discussed. The surgery itself is usually carried out under local anesthesia by numbing the area, just as is done for a routine filling. Some people require additional sedation or anti-anxiety medication, which can either be administered orally (by mouth) or by intravenously (through a vein) via injection.
When the area has been completely numbed, an incision will be made in your gum to expose the bone that used to contain your missing tooth or teeth. A small opening will be made in the bone to reveal the membrane that lines the sinus. This membrane will be raised and the space beneath it will be filled with bone grafting material. The gum is then stitched back up. In some cases, the implant(s) can be placed directly into the grafting material before the gum is closed, eliminating the need for a second surgical procedure later on to place the implant. Often, however, the surgical site is allowed to heal for approximately 6-7 months before an implant is placed.
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Sinus Surgery Being able to create or regenerate bone in sinus cavities can be life-changing for people who are missing one or more of their upper back teeth. Sinus surgery makes dental implants, today's state-of-the-art tooth replacement systems, achievable for people who otherwise would not have been able to take advantage of today's best tooth-replacement method... Read Article
Dental Implants – Your Best Option For Replacing Teeth Dental implants have many advantages over older methods of tooth replacement like bridges and dentures — from the way they function and feel to the way they look and last. Vigorous research has documented and confirmed that in the right situations, dental implant success rates are over 95%. It is no exaggeration to say that they have revolutionized dentistry. They may even change your life... Read Article
The Hidden Consequences of Losing Teeth For those missing even one tooth, an unsightly gap is actually the least significant problem. What's of far greater concern is the bone loss that inevitably follows tooth loss. Dental implants can preserve bone, improve function and enhance psychological well-being. Learn how implants serve both as anchors to support replacement teeth and preserve bone... Read Article


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Obama's Thought Police Bust the Rev
Here we go again. The Bamaman picked a well-respected Southern pastor, Louie Giglio, to give a benediction at the inauguration and, just like with Rick Warren in 2008, it turns out that the good pastor made some comments that offended the gay community, a community quite sensitive to the truth. In Giglio's case, he mostly repeated what the bible said about homosexuality, while welcoming gays to his church. Typical hate the sin, love the sinner stuff that has been the backbone of most churches for centuries. Giglio also told his congregants about the aggressive gay agenda, which is essentially the same stuff that I heard from Queer Nation and Act Up when I was living in San Francisco. But this time, instead of standing up for the right of free speech and freedom of thought, Obamaman sent out Addie Whisenant, his hatchet women in chief, and slashed Giglios head off. The pastor has now withdrawn so that he won't be an embarrassment to the administration, as if this administration could feel any shame whatsoever. Clearly, Giglio is being punished for Obama's decision not to can Warren four years ago.
But that's not the problem. Four years ago, the Bamamites claimed youth and inexperience in their failure to vet Warren. Actually, all they would have had to do is read a newspaper to know what Warren stood for. When I raised the issue four years ago, I attacked this point–that Obama and his people seemed to leap without looking, and four of our faithful on this blog responded by saying that given time the Obamavolk would learn this. And yet, they haven't. In the last week, Obama has done six things that look impetuous and foolish. He has named two potential cabinet appointees, Brennan and Hegel, certain to draw Congressional ire. He has put his inauguration up for sale to the highest bidders who want access. He has backed down on three major campaign promises-gitmo, tax cuts and diversity in his cabinet. And, finally, he picked a fight with Congress over guns during the heat of battle, notwithstanding that this wasn't something and isn't something that concerns Americans as the one issue that political capital should be spent on. Mr. President, its the economy stupid.
Last week, when I was pointing out the various ways this president is showing that he learned nothing, I cut out a sentence in which I hypothesized that the last remaining act he could do to prove he learned nothing was to pick a controversial minister to give a blessing. But then I realized that he certainly wasn't going to do that again. Well, it seems that he not only hasn't learned to be impetuous, but he hasn't even learned the most basic lesson. I would think at the planning of the inauguration meeting, someone would joke about vetting the rev, and everyone would giggle. How did that not happen?
Doing it once was foolish. Doing it twice looks like policy. And this time he has no one to blame but himself.


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Ron Paul's campaign alleges Rep. Paul was treated unfairly in Tuesday's debate. Anderson Cooper is Keeping them Honest.
I'm an ardent Ron Paul supporter and I think CNN did an outstanding job on the debate. Cooper was fair with all the candidates, including Ron Paul – he gave them relatively equal time. Thanks Anderson and CNN for what I felt was a non biased debate, and giving my candidate a far shake in interviews.
hahahaha.. great tactic Mr. Paul.. dont think complaint was legit, more so for Anderson to respond to complaints and give Mr. Paul more airtime. CNN replayed all of Mr. Paul's response from the Vegas Debate. Mr Paul, with all due respect, your airtime was so short due to the fact that the general public is not interested in what you have to say.
As (another) Ron Paul fan, I think Mr. Cooper did the best of all the debate moderators to this point in providing Dr. Paul decent air time. I've tried to watch the debates pretty closely, and I think I'm right in this assumption. Hopefully the Paul campaign was commenting on earlier debates, and will let Mr. Cooper know this. In any event, I'm pleased that Mr. Cooper will continue to have Dr. Paul on his shows in the future.
Ron Paul in 2012...
Ron Paul was not referring to you Anderson Cooper. He was referring to the washington post//bloomberg debate where he had a huge gap in speaking time and chances to speak. He also commended your debate on Fox news a couple of days ago. He wasnt referring to you or your debate and it would be great if you took back your statement and let Ron Paul explain this misunderstanding.
Hey Anderson how bout comparing air time between all the candidates?? Yes Ron Paul got some air time but compared to Romney is nothing. As a moderator u should make sure they all get the same air time and I dont want to hear that excuse of rebuttal time cause we all know that an excuse to give unfair time to the rest of the candidates.
Btw dont treat these important debates as another talk show. It almost got to look like the Jerry Springer show and you acting not as a moderator but as Jerry. BTW am sick of talk shows.
Rock on Anderson. Facts don't seem to matter these days but the exist none the less.
Ron Paul is the only candidate that is pro-peace, against banker bailouts. All of the rest of the candidates are for more wars and more banker bailouts and that includes our current president Obama. He did not get a chance to say why he can beat Obama. He can beat Obama because he is the only candidate that differs from Obama in that he is against war and against bailing out banks.
As always, my comment is awaiting moderation. What are you going to do next November, when you won't be able to silence those voices with whom you disagree and they've thrown you and your liberal candidate out of office?
I don't care who the Republican nominee is, I am voting for him. I have had enough hope and change.
Let's be honest but when Ron Paul won the California straw poll the media barely mentioned it. When Ron Paul won the Value Voters Summit straw poll the media (CNN and Fox News) said straw poll don't matter yet they touted it as a victory for Herman Cain. They even said Ron Pauls campaign had paid people to vote at the Value Voters straw poll but this is flat out not true. Also it seemed unfair to me that the candidates weren't all allowed at least a closing statement. Seemed a little sketchy to me. Well admittingly it was one of the better debates but please allow for closing statements in the future!!!! Thanks!!!!
I am a huge supporter of Ron Paul and I feel that you gave him plenty of time to speak and express himself, Anderson. When I first watched the debate I worried you'd black him out, and since you're my favorite news anchor, Anderson, I wondered who would have to lose my undying loyalty. But you always exceed my expectations. Ron Paul said himself that he was pleased with the time he was given to speak in an interview yesterday. Please don't confuse Ron Paul's opinions with his follower's or even his campaign's. You never disappoint Anderson. Thank you for your honest news reporting.
Good for calling the Ron Paul Fundraising committee out on their mis-information Mr. Cooper. Though Ron Paul has been slighted by other networks in the past...Fox...he was not by yours. I watched the debates and there was no indication that Paul was slighted in such a way as his Fundraising committee mentioned. Yeesh, I had previously thought Paul's campaign was better than that...obviously not. Pity.
So you can say, with a straight face, that major media outlets including CNN have not been purposely ignoring Ron Paul in both his 2008 and 2011 election?
I did however notice that you allowed other candidates to run over their time limits, but were quick to cut off Paul.
In your coverage over the Perry and Romney clashes during the debate, you failed to point out that although both candidates were testy and somewhat mean-spirited, Perry at least stuck to the issues by focusing on immigration. But Romney's comment regarding Perry's previous debate performances was a purely personal attack.
I think this is the debate that let Ron Paul speak the most.
But you do have to admit that after the debate you did not give him any credit for anything..
All I hear in the news is the stupid 9-9-9 plan.. We really want to hear from the other candidates not just Romney, Perry and Cain!
Cain won 1 straw poll and he's all over the media, Ron Paul has won how many?? about 5?? no credit...
Stop picking our candidates and show the same amount of coverage for ALL... we had to blast your twitter to get 1 bad article about him.. thank you!
how about you guys talk about his economic plan?
You never did give Ron Paul a chance to speak at the end why he would be best against Obama in 2012! You let ahead and let the other candidates, even though the campaigns agreed, you still let them go over, why couldn't Paul?
I think it is stupid to make this a story. It strays away from what matters.
I'm a Ron Paul fanatic from Florida. I just ate all of the crap I was talking earlier this week. I'm sorry AC. Dr. Paul doesn't get a fair shake in the MSM ( FACT ) but it wasn't that bad at the debate. I think a lot of us had a bad feeling in our gut from last year's debate at the Reagan center when he was marginalized then (check the tapes. Dr. Paul actually had to ask you "Can I join the debate?"). Also...the Pew center's research on his treatment in MSM news outlets just came out last week, so give us a break, please?
I'm sorry A/C, again. CNN has been added to my "News" feed again and I've "Liked" you on FB.


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The Wiwigo team was quick to understand our needs and very welcoming. They arranged to pick us up early in the morning and showed us around the city. The overall experience was great. Will definitely use them again on my next trip to India.
Great service and driver. Same cab arrived as seen in the picture. Very pleased- will use again.
Very professional and transparent in their dealings- cab was immaculate and driver was great. I had a great trip to Agra. Next year, I would use Wiwigo again when I come back again. This time I would like to visit Jaipur.
We had a very busy schedule and wanted to see around Delhi. Wiwigo team was prompt in arranging cab for us. We had a great time visiting different places and capturing the memories in our cameras. Highly recommended.
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To reach Nainital, you have to take a train to Kathgodam and then take an overpriced cab to reach Nainital. Plus, train journey kills the fun of stopping by at intervals and viewing the attractions that the route to Nainital has to offer. Prior bookings and ticket confirmation worries can make travelling a burden. So book a cab from Wiwigo,com the day you want to take your journey and forget about confirmations and restrictions!
Mount Abu: situated at the Aravalli range of Rajasthan range of Rajasthan near the border of Gujarat. It is the only hill station of Rajasthan state. It gives a panoramic and enticing view from the scorching desert heat of Rajasthan and neighbouring Gujarat. Mount Abu is popularly known as the " Oasis in the desert". Dilwara jain temple, Nakki lake are the famous tourist places to see there Do you want to visit Mount Abu? Let's talk about, "How can you go to Mount Abu."
A preferred but dry mode of travel, train journey kills the fun of stopping by at intervals and viewing the attractions that the route from Nainital to MountAbu has to offer. Prior bookings and ticket confirmation worries can make travelling a burden. So book Nainital to MountAbu cab from Wiwigo.com the day you want to take your journey and forget about confirmations and restrictions!
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Why did young Eunice Williams stay with Indians who had murdered her mother?
The Unredeemed Captive: A Family Story From Early America. By John Demos. Vintage 336 pp., $14.95, paperback.
By Janice Harayda
In 1704 a French and Indian war party slaughtered dozens of men, women, and children in a predawn attack on Deerfield, Massachusetts. Recent histories have sanitized the incident known as the Deerfield Massacre, calling it "the Raid on Deerfield."
The term "raid" hardly fits the events described in this memorable true story of Eunice Williams, who lived through the terror that was masterminded by the French but largely carried out by Mohawks and other Indians. Eunice was a 7-year-old Puritan minister's daughter when she was kidnapped in the attack – oops, sorry, "raid"! – on Deerfield at about 4 a.m. on February 29. Her mother died on a subsequent forced march to Canada, killed by an Indian who "slew her with his hatchet at one stroke," a son wrote. Her father and siblings were eventually released.
But Eunice stayed with the Indians, one of whom she married, for puzzling reasons: Was she a prisoner or a willing expatriate? The Yale University historian John Demos explores the question in this fascinating finalist for 1994 National Book Award (inexplicably described on the cover as the winner of the prize).
Enough gaps remain in the record that Demos has to tease out answers, partly by exploring relations between the English, French, and Indians in 18th-century America. ("Some things we have to imagine.") So The Unredeemed Captive isn't a Jon Krakauer tale with muskets. But its story matters for more than its complex portrayal of colonial life. Demos doesn't take the fashionable path of romanticizing American Indians, but he doesn't spare the Puritans, either. He notes that in our era, "fundamentalism" has become a shorthand term for "radical Islamists, evangelical Christians, ultra-Orthodox Jews, militant Hindus" and others. "By the same token," he writes, "it's not a long stretch to characterize the early Puritans, surrounding and including the Williams family, as 'fundamentalists' themselves; witness their sense of utter certainty in what they were about, their intolerance of difference and dissent, their zeal for conversion of infidel natives, and their readiness to fight, die, and kill in the cause of advancing their faith."
Best line: "Who can tell what sorrows pierced our souls?," a rhetorical question asked by
Rev. John Williams after the massacre.
Worst line: Demos tells much of Eunice's story in the present tense, which works less well than the past tense he uses to give it context.
Recommendation? An excellent choice for history books clubs and others that like serious nonfiction.
Editor: Ashbel Green
Published: 1994 (Knopf hardcover), 1995 (Vintage paperback).
Read John Demos's summary of the Deerfield Massacre in American Heritage. Several Deerfield museums have an excellent interactive Web site that shows a representation of the attack and tells more about the people mentioned in this review.
One-Minute Book Reviews is for people who like to read but dislike hype and review inflation.
© 2009 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.


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Excellent driver, showed us everything around Rishikesh. We had a great time in Shivpuri. The cab was neat and clean. 5 stars for everything. Booking for 2 more trips right now.
The Wiwigo team was quick to understand our needs and very welcoming. They arranged to pick us up early in the morning and showed us around the city. The overall experience was great. Will definitely use them again on my next trip to India.
Great service and driver. Same cab arrived as seen in the picture. Very pleased- will use again.
Very professional and transparent in their dealings- cab was immaculate and driver was great. I had a great trip to Agra. Next year, I would use Wiwigo again when I come back again. This time I would like to visit Jaipur.
We had a very busy schedule and wanted to see around Delhi. Wiwigo team was prompt in arranging cab for us. We had a great time visiting different places and capturing the memories in our cameras. Highly recommended.
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A beautiful city in the State of Tamil Nadu, Tiruchirappalli is quite ancient as it dates back to 3rd century B.C. The city has experienced multiple dynasties such as the Cholas, Pandyas, Pallavas, Nayak Dynasty and the British. This results in a colorful mixture of heritage and culture over centuries. Travelers come here to visit the state of the art Rockfort temple, Ranganathaswamy temple and the Jambukeshwara temple and the Puliancholai falls situated in a very calm and serene environment.
Haridwar: the ancient city, aslo known as Gangadwara, Haridwar is regarded as one of the seven holiest places (Sapta Puri) by Hindus. According to the "Samudra manthan", Haridwar along with Ujjain, Nashik and Allahabad is one of four sites where drops of Amrit, the elixir of immortality, accidentally spilled over from the pitcher while being carried by the celestial bird Garuda. This is manifested in the Kumbha Mela being celebrated every 3 years in one of the 4 places, and thus every 12 years in Haridwar. Amidst the Kumbha Mela, millions of pilgrims, devotees, and tourists congregate in Haridwar to perform ritualistic bathing on the banks of the river Ganges to wash away their sins to attain Moksha. Brahma Kund, the spot where the Amrit fell, is located at Har ki Pauri (literally, "footsteps of the Lord") and is considered to be the most sacred ghat of Haridwar.
A preferred but dry mode of travel, train journey kills the fun of stopping by at intervals and viewing the attractions that the route from Tiruchirappalli to Haridwar has to offer. Prior bookings and ticket confirmation worries can make travelling a burden. So book Tiruchirappalli to Haridwar cab from Wiwigo.com the day you want to take your journey and forget about confirmations and restrictions!
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Celebrating the living Roman Way and the legacy of the Roman world. For current discussions, visit us at [societas-via-romana] on Google Groups.
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Core, core, core. Yes, we hear it ad nauseam: 'You need to strengthen the core' or the other favorite, 'It's all about the core.' But what does it really mean? There is no clear medical definition of core, but fitness trainers use the term to describe the muscles of the trunk – front and back. 'Many people associate 'core' with abs and maybe lower back, but from a more global perspective, it includes all the supportive muscles of the spine,' says Robert Gillanders, an endurance athlete and physical therapist at Sports + Spinal Physical Therapy in Washington. 'And part of the reason the core muscles are so important is because the spine is not a fundamentally stable structure,' he says. So the expression 'grow a spine' should really be 'build some core.' Core muscles are important for athletic performance, in particular, because they ensure efficient transfer of energy from the powerful lower body to the less bulky upper body, says Stephen Burgett, a personal trainer certified by the
National Strength and Conditioning Association
. In other words, if you are a golfer or baseball player, you know that your swing doesn't originate in the arms – it comes all the way from the ground up. And if you have a strong core, that power is more likely to stay intact all the way up from your toes through your fingertips, generating a powerful swing. 'Same thing for a runner. If they don't have good core strength and can't stay upright at the end of a race, they will lose a lot of efficiency and force,' Burgett says. Todd Miller, a professor in the Department of Exercise Science at George Washington University, calls the core the 'mechanical link between the upper and lower body.' So: how to train the core? All three experts agree that traditional crunches are not the way to go. 'They are overrated,' says Burgett. 'And the way many people do them, there is way too much range of motion and they end up complaining about back pain.' And, he says, the key to functional fitness is to find a way to build muscle that supports daily activity – of which crunching in a fetal position probably is not one. 'When is a crunch position a useful position?' he asks rhetorically. 'You wouldn't be in that position unless you were sick or being beaten up.' Instead, Burgett works on exercises such as side-lying planks to help build the lateral muscles of the trunk and single-leg bridges with hip extensions to work the back and glutes. Gillanders approves. It's important to comprehend the many dimensions and layers of core muscles, he says. If you were doing only crunches, for example, you would be neglecting those lateral muscles of the core as well as muscles of the back. In the trunk, like elsewhere in the body, there are big, small, front, back, side, surface and deep muscles – and for the best outcome for fitness and wellness, he says, all of them need to be worked to 'fire appropriately.' For example, there are the rectus abdominis (the six-pack) and underneath them are the transverse abdominis (equally important but not visible to the naked eye). Then there are the big back muscles such as the erector spinae and the much smaller and local muscles such as the sectional muscles between the vertebrae. It's a lot to keep track of, but it's important to do so, Gillanders says, because if you overtrain certain muscles and underwork others, the body becomes less adept at moving efficiently. Gillanders points out that the smaller, more local muscles often require subtle movements – like 'bringing the navel toward the spine' or 'bracing with the pelvic floor' – that don't necessarily fit the idea of 'workout exercises.' 'Connecting with those movements is a form of mental gymnastics,' Gillanders says. Miller says that doing 'abs' in isolation is completely unnecessary if you are looking to improve core strength. 'If you have a properly designed resistance training program with lunges and squats you don't need to do abs,' Miller says. Think of exercises such as lunging and squatting with overhead weights. This type of work strengthens the core because it requires the core to stabilize the body. But let's face it, it's almost swimsuit season, and some people want to go for the six-pack look. How to get there? 'Eat less,' says Miller half-jokingly, adding that everyone has a six-pack – it's part of our anatomy. It's just a matter of how much fat is layered on top. There is no such thing as spot-reducing fat, he says, so it's overall dietary – and exercise – changes that create a calorie deficit that ultimately will reveal the six-pack. Working the abs to create more bulk will also help reveal them. And here is where Miller has an admission to make. 'I do crunches,' he says. 'But I do them to look good. And if the goal is to have good-looking abs, then sure, by all means do the crunch machine. But it's for show more than anything else.' – – – Set out by doing 10 reps of each exercise. Then as you get stronger, increase to two sets of 10 reps of each exercise. The following are cues to ensure proper form: Bird dog: On your hands and knees (in table top pose), stay centered with shoulders over hands and hips over the knees. Raise the right arm forward until the hand is at the same height as the shoulder. Be careful not to shift hips laterally or extend the back out of a neutral position. 'Reach' the leg behind (vs. lifting it). Keep the core engaged and ensure the 'reaching' of the leg is coming from the glutes. Hold for a few seconds and then switch sides. Dead bug: Lie flat on the back with arms along your sides. Lift the right knee toward the chest while lifting the left arm toward the floor behind you. Bring the knee and arm back to starting position. Switch sides. Maintain a neutral posture in the lower back by pulling the navel toward the spine. Side-lying plank: Lie on your right side with knee and elbow bent, and then push into the right forearm and right knee to lift the hip off the ground. This is the least taxing variation of side-lying plank. Keep the right hip forward and up, maintaining a straight line from the knee up through the hip and shoulder on the right side. Hold for a few seconds and rest. Repeat 10 times and then switch sides. Bridge: Lying on the back with the knees bent and the feet about hip-width apart, lift the hips gently off the floor. Engage through the glutes when lifting. This pose has you moving opposite to the flexed position you are in while sitting at a desk. Narrow squat: Start by standing with your legs hip-width apart. While maintaining a straight back, sit back as far as you can (as if you were sitting down in a chair) into the squat. Keep the shin relatively upright and avoid poking the knees out in front of the feet, as that can be stressful on the knees. Boston is a fitness trainer and freelance writer. She can be found at
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