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Hazelnuts and chocolate is one of my favorite combinations, so it's no wonder I've decided to use both in the form of cookies. To this, I added some cardamom powder, which enhanced the cookies with its wonderful, warm aroma.
To make things even more interesting, I divided the dough in half, and prepared different shaped cookies from each half. Once baked, I also dipped some of the cut-out cookies in melted chocolate and chopped hazelnuts, which made for a more festive presentation.
You can choose which way you prefer for preparing these cookies, or use all, as I have done. Whichever you'll choose, I'm sure you'll enjoy these tasty and delicate cookies.
* Cacao nibs are roughly chopped cacao beans. They add a unique crunchy texture and a slightly bitter chocolaty flavor to the cookies. They can be found in specialty stores or online. If you can't find them, dark mini chocolate chips can be used instead.
* The baked cookies can keep, in an airtight container, for up to a week. The dough log can be frozen, in a freezer bag, for up to a month. To bake the cookies from frozen, add 2-3 minutes to the baking time given here.
Makes: about 70
Prep time: 25 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes
Baking time: 10-12 minutes
1 cup shelled hazelnuts
1 stick (115 grams) butter, soft
1 tsp cardamom powder
¼ cup cacao nibs (see notes)
1¼ cups sugar
1 L egg
1½ cups flour
¼ cup cornstarch
Dash salt
For decoration (optional):
Melted bitter sweet chocolate
Coarsely chopped lightly toasted hazelnuts
1. Place the hazelnuts in a toaster oven and lightly toast them. Cool to room temperature and finely grind them in a spice grinder, or in a small food processor. You should end up with ½ cup hazelnut meal.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the hazelnut meal, butter, cardamom, cacao nibs, sugar and egg. Add the flour, cornstarch and salt and mix briefly, just until the dough is formed.
3. At this point, choose which way you want to prepare the cookies: rolling into logs, or rolling the dough with a rolling pin and cutting with a cookie cutter. I chose to make both, by dividing the dough in half.
4. Option one: roll half of the dough into a log about 1.6" (4 cm) thick, and about 11" (28cm) long. Wrap in wax paper, and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 3605F (180C) and line a cookie sheet pan with baking paper. Cut the log with a sharp, heavy knife, into slices, about 0.2"(0.5 cm). Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies start to brown at the edges. Cool to room temperature before serving.
5. Option two: on a lightly floured work space, roll the rest of the dough with a rolling pin, to a thickness of about ¼" (0.6cm). Using a cookie cutter, cut out your favorite shapes. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the cookies start to brown at the edges. Cool to room temperature before serving or decorating.
To decorate: dip each cookie in melted chocolate, and scatter chopped hazelnuts over it. Let the chocolate set before serving.

subset: commoncrawl


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Editorial: Mitt Romney wins round 1
After a self-damaging few weeks, Mitt Romney did what he had to do at Wednesday night's presidential debate, besting President Barack Obama in the first of three such confrontations.
For his part the GOP nominee came off as the more engaged, confident, assertive, accessible, disciplined, prepared and even presidential of the two. Given the contested Republican primary, Romney has had significantly more debating practice than the president, and it showed. No doubt his performance buoys conservatives who feared this thing might be over following a very difficult September for their candidate.
Meanwhile, Obama acted as if he'd rather have been someplace else, perhaps at a romantic dinner celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary. He looked down when Romney spoke, avoiding eye contact. "No drama Obama" proved the nickname to a fault, never quite going on offense, never quite exploiting his opponent's vulnerabilities, making no mention of the latter's "47 percent" speech or of his days at Bain Capital. It was reminiscent of the president's languid, go-through-the-motions convention address, in which he acted like a risk-averse basketball team trying to protect a lead rather than put the game away. Even a hyper-partisan guy such as Democratic operative James Carville acknowledged that Obama "didn't bring his A game." He wasn't awful; Romney was just better.
To be sure, live TV debates emphasize the visual, with appearance and body language making an impression beyond the spoken word. But on substance, Romney also was the more persuasive, pounding the president on his health care plan - specifically the unelected Independent Payment Advisory Board, a 15-member panel given considerable powers under ObamaCare to put the brakes on health care spending - while defending his own quite similar plan adopted in Massachusetts when he was governor there. If Romney was factually wrong in referring to the administration's $716 billion "cut" to Medicare over 10 years - as Republicans themselves have long argued on their own budget-taming behalf, slowing the projected growth is not a "cut" - the president did not forcefully call him out on it, nor did his criticism of Romney's voucher plans gain much traction.
The president repeatedly referenced Romney's "$5 trillion tax cut," which Romney just as repeatedly denied, arguing that his lower tax rates across the board will be paid for through the elimination of various deductions, without adding to the deficit. The president did not challenge him on the lack of specifics regarding which deductions, nor did he demand the Republican do the math. If Romney was effective in characterizing the nation's debt as a "moral issue" for future generations who will be saddled with it, he was less so in saying he'd reduce it by ending the subsidy for PBS.
If Obama spoke derisively of "doubl(ing) down on the top-down economic policies that helped to get us into this mess" while championing "a new economic patriotism," Romney countered by accusing him of "trickle-down government" that requires "spending more, taxing more, regulating more" in ways that punish rather than pump up the middle class. Romney sounded almost moderate in describing the necessity for regulations to enforce fairness in a free market economy, and even turned the tables on an Obama who signed the Dodd-Frank bill by describing it as "the biggest kiss that's been given to New York banks I've ever seen," far from the little-guy-protecting oversight of the financial industry it was advertised to be. If Romney overstated the number of unemployed in America and the degree to which the annual red ink has swelled - in fact Obama inherited a $1.2 trillion deficit - that and other blows largely landed without jabs in return.
Beyond that both sides were guilty of exaggerations and stretches of the truth, but there were no earth-shattering gaffes or zinger grand slams. They were admirably courteous to one another.
Is Romney again reinventing himself, saying anything to get elected, as Democrats charge? Maybe so. But for the millions of viewers at home who aren't policy wonks and tend to have more visceral, sometimes forgiving reactions, well, Romney just didn't come off as the fire-breathing, middle-class-despising, insensitive ideologue portrayed by the Obama team. Against such type and expectation, he won the night. Arguably it puts him back in the game.
Oh, it is hardly the first time the incumbent didn't quite deliver the first time out. George W. Bush had some rebounding to do against John Kerry in 2004, and did. The argument is frequently made that the incumbent is distracted because he has another job - running the country - but he only gets to keep that job if Americans re-elect him, and so the debates from which many voters get their impressions are important too. It may well be true that the vast majority of Americans have already made up their minds, but many independents may still be up for grabs.
As such we're likely to see a very different, less passive and professorial Obama in Round II on Oct. 16. In the meantime the vice presidential debate between Joe Biden and Paul Ryan on Oct. 11 should be telling.
The differences between the two camps could hardly be more stark. Is the private sector best equipped to successfully address the nation's economic problems, or is the public sector? On that question this election hinges.
Journal Star of Peoria, Ill.


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The Humans Hints
Warning! Clicking on one of the links below will give you information that could possibly spoil or ruin or otherwise make the game less fun. Once you've seen how to cheat, it's hard to forget. Click at your own danger or flee now while you still have the chance.
|General Hints/Tips - Lynx
|Level Passwords
|Jul 17, 2005
|festershinetop (9633)
Walkthroughs, hints, tips, tricks, cheats and codes can be contributed to MobyGames by any registered user via our online game contribution pages. If you know of any hints for this game that aren't already in the database, please take a moment to share you knowledge with your fellow gamers. It's easy fast and fun.


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Burger King, 1170 Pulaski Highway, Bear, Delaware, 19701
Store Hours of Operation, Location & Phone Number for Burger King Near You
Burger King
1170 Pulaski Highway Bear DE 19701
Hours(Opening & Closing Times):
6:00am - 11:00pm Weekdays, 6:00am - 1:00am Weekends
Phone Number: (302) 838-1900
Customer Service Email or Contact:Correct this information
The map and information below will help you find the closest Burger King near you. Need to know what time Burger King in Bear opens or closes, or whether it's open 24 hours a day? Read below for business times, daylight and evening hours, street address, and more.
A global network of fast-food restaurants, Burger King began in Jacksonville, FL, in July 1953. Today, Burger King accounts for almost 13,000 locations worldwide. Burger King mainly offers an assortment of burgers, the "Whopper" amongst the most famous. Additional menu items include fries, chicken, salads, breakfast items, and more. Burger King maintains both company-owned restaurants and independently-operated franchise locations. Annual revenue for Burger King totals around $2.3 billion.
Share this page on your own blog or websites. Just copy & paste the HTML code below.
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Are you associated with this store and see a problem? Please fill out the form below and we'll do our best to update our records appropriately!


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Classifieds4me.com is the free international classified network that you can use to post
all your classified ads and browse / search among classified ads posted by other visitors.
If you want to locally sell / buy / rent apartments, houses, villas, cars, trucks, SUVs,
vans, art, crafts, antiques, collectibles, computers, electronics, furniture, etc. or present
your services, post your job opportunities or your job requests, you are on the right site.


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Hands: Dupuytren's Disease (lump in palm)
I've been climbing for 30 years and just noticed a lump forming in the palm of each hand between the bones that extend down from my ring fingers and pinkies. The lump doesn't hurt but it looks like somebody slipped a peanut into my hand. WTF?
I've been climbing for 30 years and just noticed a lump forming in the palm of each hand between the bones that extend down from my ring fingers and pinkies. The lump doesn't hurt but it looks like somebody slipped a peanut into my hand. WTF?
Jeff Jacksom, Basalt, Colorado
In the mid 9th century, the Vikings got around, albeit in a less than gentlemanly manner. Visiting the neighboring shores across the North Sea, Scotland, Ireland, England, yada yada, they raped, pillaged and plundered to their hearts' content. Wreaking havoc on your neighbors was apparently a great tonic.
Though the genes for blue eyes and blond hair has its advantages, the full Viking genome does not come with a lifetime warranty. It carries a pesky piece of DNA that causes Dupuytren's disease (DD), defined by the formation of scar tissue in the palm of the hand — more specifically, in the fascia underlying the skin.
DD is purportedly associated with many other diseases: alcoholism, epilepsy, AIDS, diabetes, hepatic disease, fibromatosis, peptic ulcers, myocardial disease, carpel-tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, one ear lower than the other, or your mother predominantly calls on a Tuesday. Because DD has an onset in the middle to later ages, for many it is more likely a coincidental association only. Fact: most of the afflicted are males aged over 35, of Anglo descent.
Splints, heat, cortisone, electro gizmos, vitamin E, etc., are all uniformly and categorically unsuccessful.
Needle aponevrotomy is the most significant advance in DD management in recent decades. The Dupuytrens cord is weakened and cut with a #25 gauge needle. Relax! It is quite small. Simple, quick and comparatively cheap, the procedure will cost you about 650 bingo bets per finger. Like surgery, recurrence is as high as 50 percent. Unlike surgery, it can be repeated and has very little rehab. One physician, regarding recovery, says,
Close to 100 percent could return to climbing within two weeks after the procedure. SOLD. That is, if you can get to one of the handful of physicians in the USA who are qualified to do it.
Wrist Instability and Carpal Tunnel


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Built at the Internet Archive
Sort By:
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Sites and collections from this organization are listed below. Narrow your results at left, or enter a search query below to find a collection, site, specific URL or to search the text of archived webpages.
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Subject: Government - US Federal, Science & Health
Creator: National Library of Medicine (U.S.). Board of Regents
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Meet and greet tickets are only meet and greets if they are specified in the ticket group, section, row or notes. Meet and greets are very rare and only a handful of performers conduct them. They typically range between $1000-$5000 each if they are offered. There are many other VIP tickets or packages that can be found on this site. We also display regular tickets for many events. These DO NOT include meet and greets.
PLEASE NOTE, TICKETS ARE NOT VIP or MEET AND GREET UNLESS SPECIFIED IN THE SECTION, ROW or COMMENTS
Each package is different. The type of package described in the description of the content on this website may not be the particular one offered for sale unless it is mentioned in the section, row or notes of the exact ticket group you buy. Please refer to the notes of the ticket group you are purchasing for exact amenities which WILL be included as part of your order.


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Main characteristics
2108 Couvet
Exact address available upon registration
3 bathrooms
6.5 rooms
1 parking
165 m2
2114 Fleurier
Exact address available upon registration
2 bathrooms
4.5 rooms
1 parking
120 m2
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Earthways Center Teaches by Example
This St. Louis, Missouri, teaching center promotes green building and home performance through its guided tours and training programs while serving as a model for green and energy-efficient design.
EarthWays Center, a division of Missouri Botanical Garden, promotes sustainable energy and resource use. Based in a stately old brick home in midtown St. Louis that has been completely renovated to model sustainability in buildings and personal lifestyle choices, its educational programs have earned respect throughout Missouri and around the Midwest, addressing energy efficiency, recycling and waste reduction, air quality, and green building. Expertise of the current staff includes environmental education, public policy, engineering, media communications, and multiple specialties they like to call applied sustainability.
This 1885 vintage Victorian has been through cycles of major change. Originally a gracious single-family home, it was abandoned by its last live in owner and stood vacant for over 13 years. The house had become a derelict shell by the early 1990s, an ideal candidate for a gut rehab. A local environmental group raised $1/2 million in cash and contributed goods and services, and redeveloped the site for educational use. It was opened to the public in 1994.
The EarthWays facility houses an impressive array of green features, including a groundsource heating and cooling system for the first floor and a high-efficiency gas furnace for the second floor; 2 x 6 reframing of all exteriorwalls and superinsulation using blown-in cellulose made from recycled newsprint; high-efficiency windows; compact fluorescent lighting; efficient appliances; sustainable flooring; aerated and low-flow plumbing fixtures; a PV installation; and a variety of handsome reused and recycled- content furnishings. New features are regularly added to this mix.
Whole-House Perspective
An educational challenge facing EarthWays today is advancing the integration of green building concepts with building performance practices, particularly among homeowners. Reputable national evaluation tools that support this kind of work include the EPA Energy Star programs, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating systems, and contractor certification programs like those provided by the Building Performance Institute.
"Of course we still teach about fundamentals like energy efficiency and recycling in the home environment," says EarthWays' Program Manager Glenda Abney.
"As market acceptance grows for specific building products and practices that are verifiably green,we are challenged to communicate how materials, building systems, and everyday operations and maintenance have to work together to make living environments healthy, safe, and comfortable as well as efficient." As environmental educators, the EarthWays team compares home performance to cycles and flows in the natural world, where everything is connected to everything else. Modifying one thing will affect another. It's true for homes and ecosystems. If we fix what we think is not working, without thinking through the problem to find its real source, the fix will probably fail— and the problem may get worse.
"Guided tours of EarthWays Center have been a good way for us to educate visitors of all ages about the green building practices and products they see here," explains Abney."We can introduce our visitors to concepts of whole-building science as we take them through the basic EarthWays tour, where they see a positive flow of interconnected products and systems. Showing them our cellulose insulation through kitchen wall cutaways and then explaining how a ground source system works, as they view the renewable energy murals painted on the walls in our garden, can lead to discussions of the critical interaction between good insulation, properly sized HVAC units, and effective air sealing. Tours also highlight the interrelationships behind our solar-powered kitchen."
EarthWays' appliances and lighting can be run on a mere 1.5 kW PV array because compact fluorescent bulbs are installed in all the fixtures and there is a highefficiency SunFrost refrigerator. "The refrigerator alone," notes Abney,"models the importance of insulation and designing for efficiency." The SunFrost's exterior walls and space between compartments incorporate 3 to 5 inch insulated spaces. Separate, highly efficient compressors maintain freezer and refrigerator section temperatures. The SunFrost's compressors are mounted on top of the appliance, compared to designs that stow these knob-shaped components under conventional models, letting waste heat rise through cooled spaces.
Sleuthing Solutions
Through a grant coordinated by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, EarthWays Center has established a home performance program for the greater St. Louis area (see "Home Performance Flourishing in St. Louis"). Local contractors were trained at EarthWays Center, using its features as a learning lab. Frequent public events, such as the EarthWays Energy Festival, provide an ideal venue to market home performance concepts and services to a receptive audience of homeowners. The certified contractors are providing whole-building audits for St. Louis homeowners, and effective home improvements have begun.
"When people come to EarthWays Center now," says Abney, who also coordinates the St. Louis Home Performance program, "we can educate them much more effectively about the possibilities. Working with the contractors in the home performance program,homeowners can turn that education into reality."
Results of investigations by the St. Louis cadre of home performance contractors give the EarthWays team intriguing stories to use in promoting the program. For example, one family thought they had a major lint problem— that somehow their clothes dryer was blowing lint all over the house on a daily basis. Their home performance contractor discovered an opening in the duct system in the attic and improper insulation that was being pulled into that hole.The insulation was being carried through the duct system and blown all over the house. Duct sealing, not a new dryer, was needed to contain the "lint."
Another woman reported a paint problem.After two contractors repainted, she still had peeling paint. Her home performance contractor found that she also had air leaks in that area of her house, causing condensation behind the walls that made the paint peel continually. After an air sealing job was completed, only one more painter got a job at that home.
Then there was the family who had high utility bills. Working with a home performance contractor, they discovered that they had no insulation in the walls or attic. In addition, they had a severe mold issue. Getting a bigger air conditioner or simply cleaning up the mold wouldn't make the problem go away. They had to fix a combination of water, insulation, and ventilation problems.
"Home Performance with Energy Star supports our work with homeowners like these to develop understanding of how a house functions as a whole system," says Abney. "The St. Louis home performance contractors corrected all of these problems, but if these people had not consulted with a building scientist, they would have seen only part of the issue and would indeed still have their problems.
"When people call on us with problems, we can confidently refer them to certified professionals who can evaluate the components of their home's system, and then implement improvements as an owner-contractor team. And we can direct people to financial support for this process through UMB Bank's lowinterest lending partnership in our Home Performance program."
A Wealth of Potential Benefits
The EarthWays Center team takes dozens of calls a week from people seeking help for problems in their homes, as well as those looking to build new or modify existing homes.Visitors to EarthWays events tend to spend time exploring and asking in-depth questions. Many of these people are looking for maximum benefits: comfort, durability, safety, health, and the most effective use of natural resources. Staff responses promote a combination of green building techniques and home performance principles. Says Abney, "Our goal is to see housing stock built and remodeled in this region using green building products and methods and operated as effective whole building systems. And this combination will achieve our ultimate goal, which is to conserve natural resources."
Contractors involved with the EarthWays Center Home Performance program are also seeking maximum benefits, and they are willing to invest time and resources to achieve them—for their own businesses and for their clients. Ed Fieser, owner of MaxHome Performance Contracting, was one of the first St. Louis contractors to earn home performance certification."I was tired of working for big businesses where people didn't count," he reports. "I wanted to find something satisfying and beneficial to the people I was working for. Home performance does that for me, and it helps everyone. When I go home at the end of the day, I feel good because what I've done benefits the person I'm working for, benefits me financially, and benefits my family. Really, everyone around me benefits, because the efficiencies I've increased will improve the natural world by reducing emissions. I've harmed no one and helped everyone, so I'm always assisting people, no matter what I'm dealing with."
A Hub of Green Activity
In addition to its pivotal role in Home Performance with Energy Star, EarthWays Center is also home to operations of the USGBC's St. Louis Regional Chapter ("Green Me in St. Louis"). Deborah Chollet Frank, director of EarthWays Center, helped to establish the chapter in 2001, and she serves as chapter coordinator. She and her staff have persisted through the hardwon evolution of these movements. "There were several earlier attempts to launch a commercial green building group in St. Louis," recalls Frank,"made by people who were ardent advocates. But it took a while to reach the critical mass of commitment that secured a chapter charter from USGBC.
"Although chapter activity has been primarily focused in the commercial sector so far," adds Frank, "we get many inquiries from people who want to incorporate green factors into their homes, who are looking for professional resources to do so. There is strong potential here for a green homes movement."
Green building in the St. Louis residential sector is gaining momentum. A handful of local builders market green as their specialty, and some are actively supporting development and rollout of USGBC's LEED for Homes. The Home Builders Association of Greater St. Louis rallied national and regional support for a fall 2005 launch of their own green building program.
Matt Belcher, owner of Belcher Homes in St. Louis, is a longtime advocate of green building. He helped his contractor father build their family home in 1960, incorporating resource-efficient methods and materials, which, he notes, "are easier now with better technologies behind the sustainable products."
"You have to think about all the systems that go into a house, and how they will interact," says Belcher, "so all of them work together as efficiently as possible. You also have to take the lifestyle of the customers into consideration, and educate them to get the most out of the features of their home. It's really a superior way of using the process of building."
Jim Holtzman, principal of Miracle Design/Build, has been committed to green building since college projects involved him with solar home design and construction. He currently partners on high-end St. Louis custom home projects, through Evolution Developments LLC, with builder Jay Jarvis, owner of RESAC Corporation. Says Holtzman, "These houses maximize energy efficiency, air flow, and daylight. Open floor plans let people circulate freely through their living spaces, without barriers or closed-in hallways. Homes are oriented on their sites to take advantage of natural climate control factors and connect indoor and outdoor spaces. The quality factor of green is evident in materials and construction, and
Making the Case for Integrating Green and Performance
"EarthWays Center staff members are personally motivated by a desire to protect natural resources," says Glenda Abney, "but we know we have to make a business case for the principles we preach. Our region's economics are so different from those that drive successful greening efforts on both coasts. You could say we are both blessed and cursed with relatively low utility rates, waste disposal costs, and other dollar factors that elsewhere boost payback on performance and efficiency investments."
In Missouri, little political capital has been invested in promoting green building and home performance initiatives. Fiscal incentives available in other parts of the country, based in utility deregulation and tax abatements, are not in play in the Show-Me State, although communities on the Illinois side of the St. Louis metro area do have some of these advantages.
Given these conditions, Abney reminds people to consider home performance as a form of home health insurance. "Many people understand how wellness practices keep personal quality of life high and health care costs to a minimum. Home performance offers this principle of prevention for our biggest financial investments, our homes. Homeowners who are attracted to green building have already made connections between environmental concerns, health, economics, and the fact that their choices have some power. This audience is primed to appreciate what home performance has to offer."
Leadership Through Education
EarthWays Center has always taught about systems and cycles in the natural world. In the K-12 programs that the organization originally focused on, students developed energy and recycling projects and experienced how these human efforts mimic the effectiveness of natural interactions, such as solar power in the food chain and decomposition. In current green building partnerships, EarthWays tries to get all players in the building process—owners, designers, engineers, contractors, auditors—to work together from the earliest planning discussions, functioning like an ecosystem, rather than passing a project between their isolated silos.
"As environmental educators, we strive to provide children and teachers with hands-on experience of natural systems and how systems thinking clearly beats linear logic," says Abney. "We also have to teach our professional partners and the public how the buildings we live in are like the interconnected systems in the natural world. The parts have to function as a whole to make effective use of all their green features. And the results will be increased comfort and safety, energy savings, improved indoor air quality, and conservation of water and other natural resources. If planning is sound, dollars will be saved as well."
Adds Frank,"The St. Louis commercial building industry has begun to accept and value these concepts. We want to make sure our area's residential building industry is heading in that same direction."
Part of the process is sharing stories that show why others get involved. The St. Louis region's initial leaders in green building and home performance have mostly stepped up because they believe that investing in green building is the right thing to do. As their projects proliferate and local data circulate, others are seeing business and personal advantages in these practices. Education is prompting more service providers and more customers to get involved.
EarthWays' public education projects in the planning stages include establishing a national database and resource-sharing network of demonstration sites like EarthWays Center, and taking the team's educational message out to the huge audiences that attend home shows in St. Louis. These are exciting new opportunities to provide outreach about integrating green building with home performance.
Jean Ponzi is a program manager at EarthWays Center.
For more information:
EarthWays Center is located at 3617 Grandel Square, in midtown St. Louis. Public tours are offered the third weekend of each month, and organized group tours may be scheduled with two weeks' advance notice. Learn more at www.earthwayscenter.org, or by calling (314)577-0220.
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RADO Captain Cook Black High-Tech Ceramic Diver 43mm Rubber Strap Men's Watch R32129158
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The Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver watch is water resistant down to 300 m. The hands and indices of the ISO 6425 certified diver's watch are coated with SuperLuminova® to ensure excellent visibility on the black lacquered and polished dial. The 43 mm monobloc case is made of matt black high-tech ceramic, while the rotating bezel is made of hardened, polished stainless steel. Inside, the Rado R763 automatic movement exceeds standard accuracy test requirements by a full five points and offers 80-hours of power reserve. This model comes with a matte black rubber strap. Whatever your field of exploration is, your Captain Cook High-Tech Ceramic Diver will be a reliable and solid partner at your side for years to come.
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'Obama' commode sparks controversy in NM town
Outhouse sign says "Obama's Presidential Library"
Just a stone's-throw away from historic Route 66 in Tucumcari sits a sign that everyone's talking about.
The sign sits atop an outhouse and says "Obama's Presidential Library."
Some in town say it's in bad taste, while others support it. Either way, everyone knows about it. One man said people have been treating it like a tourist destination, taking pictures all the time.
As for the man who put it up, he refused to give Target 7 his name or reveal what prompted him to construct the controversial commode, but he said he has no intention of taking it down.
"It's like watching TV. If you don't like what the hell you're watching, turn the channel," said the man who put up the sign. "I'm not even certain he even deserves that level of respect, but that's my opinion."
Target 7 contacted city manager Doug Powers to see if the city was doing anything about the sign. He said he hasn't seen it yet, but will go to the site soon to see if it's breaking any city codes. However, when it comes to the message, Powers thinks the city doesn't have control over what people say.
Tucumcari is a popular overnight destination for people traveling the US on Interstate 40. Target 7 asked Powers if he's concerned the sign may give those visitors a bad idea, but he said because he hasn't seen it, he can't comment.
The sign and outhouse have been up for a few weeks, if not months, according to its owner.
"That's my opinion ... and fortunately, that's one thing they haven't taken away from us ... is our right to our opinion," said the man who constructed the sign.


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HARTFORD, Conn. — The murder case against former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez has led investigators to his hometown of Bristol, Conn., the working-class Hartford suburb where he began a meteoric rise that would carry him to the upper echelons of the NFL.
He is remembered as a fun-loving teenager at Bristol Central High School, where he followed in the footsteps of his older brother, D.J., who would star as a quarterback and tight end at the University of Connecticut.
Some recall him struggling with the death of his father, Dennis, in 2006, but remaining determined to become a pro athlete, spending hours working out before and after school. As Bristol police assist Massachusetts investigators, arresting one local man as a fugitive from justice, the community was left to ponder the fall of the hometown hero with the $40 million pro contract and a new family of his own.
A former high school teammate, Andrew Ragali, 24, said the troubled street hood he has seen portrayed on television is not the Aaron Hernandez he knew.
"You could maybe say he was immature, but he wasn't a gang-banger at all," Ragali said. "I think when he went to college things might have changed, hanging around with the wrong people, but in high school, he wasn't like that at all."
The 23-year-old Hernandez was arrested Wednesday at his mansion in North Attleborough, Mass., and accused of orchestrating the execution-style shooting of his friend, Odin Lloyd, allegedly because Lloyd had talked to the wrong people at a nightclub. He was denied bail at a hearing Thursday in a Massachusetts courtroom, where a prosecutor said a Hummer belonging to Hernandez turned up an ammunition clip matching the caliber of casings found at the scene of Lloyd's killing.
Hernandez's lawyer argued his client is not a risk to flee and the case against him is circumstantial.
On June 16, the night before the slaying, a prosecutor said, Hernandez texted two unidentified friends and asked them to hurry to Massachusetts from Connecticut. A few minutes later, he texted Lloyd to tell him he wanted to get together, the prosecutor said. Authorities said surveillance footage showed the friends arriving, but they did not say who fired the shots.
New Britain State's Attorney Brian Preleski said Thursday that his office and Bristol police have been assisting investigators in Massachusetts and that Carlos Ortiz, 27, of Bristol, had been charged as a fugitive from justice. He waived extradition to Massachusetts and was being held on $1.5 million bail in Hartford.
Ortiz's public defender, Alfonzo Sirica, declined to comment about the case.
Massachusetts state police said Thursday night they were seeking another man, Ernest Wallace, in connection with Lloyd's killing. They issued an alert and wanted poster for Wallace, saying he was considered armed and dangerous, and sought the public's help in tracking down a silver or gray 2012 Chrysler 300 with Rhode Island license plates he was seen driving.
In Connecticut, Bristol is known to many as the home of ESPN, Otis Elevator and the Hernandez family.
Aaron and his brother each earned honors as the state's Gatorade high school player of the year, although they played several years apart at Bristol Central. Aaron would often visit his brother at UConn, and at one point verbally committed to follow D.J. and play for UConn himself. But Aaron became too big a star for the state school and signed instead to play at the University of Florida, a national powerhouse where he was an All-American.
Ragali recalled seeing Hernandez again, years after high school, at a Hartford bar. He described him as quieter, with more tattoos. But said he was very nice, asked about his family and took pictures with his girlfriend.
It was after his father's death that Hernandez began smoking marijuana and hanging out with a rough crowd, Hernandez's mother, Terri, told USA Today in 2009. "The shock of losing his dad, there was so much anger," she said at the time.
Hernandez's mother works in the office at the local South Side elementary school, and other family members still live in Bristol. "All I can say is that he will be cleared of all these charges in the end," she told the Bristol Press outside her home Wednesday. "Just let it play out until the end."
On Wednesday night, police searched a Bristol home and garage owned by Andres Valderrama, whom WFSB-TV identified as an uncle. A message was left at the home Thursday seeking comment.
The Patriots, who cut Hernandez following his arrest Wednesday, drafted him in 2010 and signed him last summer to five-year contract worth $40 million.
During the draft, one team said it wouldn't take him under any circumstances, and he was passed over by one club after another before New England picked him in the fourth round. Afterward, Hernandez said he had failed a drug test in college — reportedly for marijuana — and was up front with teams about it.
A Florida man filed a lawsuit last week claiming Hernandez shot him in the face after they argued at a strip club in February.
Hernandez became a father on Nov. 6 and said he intended to change his ways: "Now, another one is looking up to me. I can't just be young and reckless Aaron no more."
Hernandez could face life in prison if convicted.


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Vineyard utilizes environmental practices
By Nancy Hastings
Whether it ends up on the plate or in the glass, there's opportunity to adopt environmentally friendly practices on farms throughout the county and nearby.
Cherry Creek Winery has made supporting green practices easy to swallow since they became an environmentally verified farm by the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). Their vineyard, next to the Old Schoolhouse Tasting Room on US-12, produces wines including red, fruit, sparkling, white, Rose', dessert and cider.
John and Denise Burtka have operated the Old Schoolhouse site for seven years. They own another location near Parma, but all the winemaking is done near the schoolhouse store and tasting room.
Though the first to come to this area, four generations of Burtka's have been making wines for the enjoyment of their family and friends for more than 100 years.
For John Burtka, winemaking was a hobby until the auto industry he worked in took a dive about 10 years ago. Based on their European roots, they built a boutique winery that makes award winning wines, using old world hand crafting. The tasting room and store is in an historic 1870's schoolhouse and the winemaking building is close by.
?"He said he wanted to start his own business, so he did," Denise Burtka said. "His family had made wine for fun, including his grandfather, his dad and uncles. They became friends with others in the area and developed a wine trail."
Burtka said the Pioneer Wine Trail covers the rolling Irish Hills, lakes and Hidden Lake Gardens along the trail.
Burtka said her husband is good at winemaking and entered Michigan State fairs, earning best of show and placing first and second in numerous contests.
"He mostly learned on his own by reading books and online," she said. "There's a lot of help when you're looking for it."
During the winter months, the Old Schoolhouse Tasting Room and store operates Thursday through Sunday with hours extending in May. There, she sells her homemade butter fudge, as well as other Michigan-made products, including jellies and salsas.
In the summertime, visitors can have a glass of wine and enjoy appetizers while overlooking the vineyards or listening to weekend entertainment. Entertainment is offered from 4 to 8 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays under the pergola next to the schoolhouse.
Winemaker Blake Kownacki manages the vineyard and comes with experience, having worked in vineyards in California and Australia. He notes the awareness and management of one's carbon footprint is integral to the operation of an environmentally friendly winery. When it comes to controlling weeds and pests inherently found in a vineyard, he looks to "greener" methods for inspiration.
"I utilize sheep in the vineyard to reduce the amount of roundup," Kownacki said. "I'm looking to transition to zero roundup and using organic methods."
He uses six sheep that graze on the vineyards to decrease the use of pesticides and promote biodiversity.
"They eat the underbrush and fertilize the ground, so it's a win-win," Kownacki said.
Kownacki said by becoming involved with the MAEAP program, the vineyard has utilized numerous ways to tweak practices to be more environmentally sound.
"And, it's nice to have a contact like Shelby (Bollwahn) who heads up the program if I have any questions," he said. "The program is a good guide to work with and it's something every farm should take advantage of."


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As was the case in the Ukraine and Lebanon and Venezuela, we're going to be seeing a lot of anti-democracy demonstrations in Turkey which purport to be pro-democracy demonstrations. The particular Turkish spin is promoting a 'secular' government, but the real point is to protect the establishment/military/'deep state'/Zionist/organized crime interests that have been running Turkey for so many years. How much money do you figure the National Endowment for Democracy is spending on protecting the 'deep state'?
In the recent international poll on the perceived positive and negative influence of various countries, the poll where the two most positive were Canada and Japan, and the most negative was Israel (with hugely negative views of Israel practically everywhere – must be the anti-Semitism!), it was the Turks who had the smallest percentage of positive views of Israel, the same country that has been leading its politicians around by the nose for years. All the contradictions in the odd Turkey-Israel alliance are coming to a head in the Kurdish problem in Iraq.


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Fresno sucked it up when their backs were against the wall and their pitchers were spent. Now it's our turn. A national title is on the line tonight at 7:00 PM.
I just returned from the Athens bars and everyone is putting this loss behind us and looking forward to Game 3.
Winning two in a row against another team that has made it through the CWS gauntlet is alot to ask.
We can do it! Go Dawgs.
Though I'm sure everyone's tired of '04 Red Sox references, remember that they lost Game 3 of the ALCS 19-8. And we all know what happened after that.
Georgia just needs to play smart tonight. Work the count as much as possible and run up those pitch counts, but for the love of God, if you have two strikes, don't look at even halfway-marginal pitches. There's no excuse for taking a called third strike tonight. None. You have a metal bat. Any contact is good contact.
On the other side, we need a strong performance from Moreau like nothing else in the world. He can start by getting the leadoff guy out. The fewer baserunners, the better. Mendonca can hit four home runs if he wants; we just have to make sure the bases are empty.
Hell, we've scored 17 runs in two games, including 10 last night. That oughta be enough. It's up to the pitchers to make sure it is.
If we hit our pitches we win, it's that simple. Our pitching kept us in the game in game won, heck the whole NCAA tournament. We have been able to hit and we can do this, we just need to have someone dominate them at the plate, which is easier said than done.
Still, you have to have faith.
I am a religious person but I will take decent pitching over faith in a baseball game any day of the week.
Last nights pitching performances were worse than awful.
Oh Lord. I believe. Please help me with my unbelief.
From a 5-0 lead to a 19-10 loss.
I would have never believed that and yet it happened.
Hunker down just one more time!
yep. if we pitch well, we win. If we don't, we lose.
Good news is....Fresno can't hit like that two games in a row. Everything went their way.
Well I DO want to talk about the strike zone. When we had 2 on, 1 out, a 3-2 count, up 5 to 0 (or 5 to 1), that called strike 3 and throw-out at 3rd changed everything.
No, the call didn't necessarily lose the game for us, but it took all the energy out of our guys, and gave Fresno State a glimmer of hope which (to their credit) they seized upon like rabid dogs.
Would've been a whole different ballgame had the ump made the correct call.
That said, you can't take away Fresno State's performance. They have 3 legitimate studs on that team.
Still lovin' the Cinderella references, especially "Looks like Cinderella is going to be at the ball past midnight". Yeah, it was like watching any Ben Stiller movie...the same routine over and over again.
I will take back every bad think I've said about Moreau if he throws it well tonight.
An ESPN poll has 2/3 of the voting population expecting Fresno State to win the game tonight. If that is the case, then wouldn't that make UGA the underdogs????
I drove down from Kansas City with my wife and 11 year old son. Needless to say, we had a great time until about the 4th inning. Talked to a bunch of other Georgia fans (we don't have a whole lot of them up here in Big 12 country), spents gobs of money on Georgia stuff, and actually had a great conversation with Nick Montgomery's father standing in the stadium concourse. You know, we hit just about as good as them, they just hit them at the right time. On another note, I thought our fielders were lethargic all night... just no hustle, no diving after some catachable balls, etc. I'm back at work this morning, so we'll have to watch the Dawgs win their National Championship on TV. They will do it. And, my guess is that it's a much lower scoring affair.
Well I DO want to talk about the strike zone. When we had 2 on, 1 out, a 3-2 count, up 5 to 0 (or 5 to 1), that called strike 3 and throw-out at 3rd changed everything.
You're darn right it changed everything. Bases loaded with one out is a heck of a lot different than inning over.
Even Mike "I Wonder What Britney's Doing" Patrick said that the pitch had to be low. It was a stunningly terrible call.
I wonder how many times "Cinderella" and "midnight" will be referenced tonight. Thank God for the mute button.
PWD is dead on. If we pitch like we did against Miami and Stanford then we win.
I also have to agree with Anon 10:01 comment on our fielding. The ball that dropped at Allen's feet last night was inexcusable. The outfielder has to call off the infielder in that situation.
Is it me or does listening to the commentators make anyone else think of the Sugar Bowl? They're obvious bias towards Fresno State is sickening.
On another note; what's the chances of the dawgs coming out tonight in black jerseys. I know they're the home team tonight and the the home teams have been in white but still, it'd be sweet if they did.
Dean - They haven't lost in White at the CWS. The last time they lost in white was Lipscomb.
If they come out in anything other than White, I'll be shocked off my rocker.
Good point PWD. Hadn't thought of that.
"The ball that dropped at Allen's feet last night was inexcusable. The outfielder has to call off the infielder in that situation."
As bad as Georgia played last night, that was the one play that hurt the most to me. It really was inexcusable. You learn how to handle that sort of thing back when you're still young enough to be hitting off a tee. But it does happen and hopefully Georgia will shake it off and be the better team tonight.
Let get out there and show those ESPN clowns who the REAL Cinderella is.
RE: Lyle Allen's drop
Lyle has been one of our best fielders this year. He's made game saving catch after game saving catch.
It was a gigantic brain fart by a freshman on college baseball's biggest stage. It happens.
But I can't criticize a guy's defense who's made the sorts of plays he has this year. Just one of those things.
When you give up 19 runs, you've got problems bigger than that. lol.
ESPN keeps saying Fresno is 5-0 in elimination games. By my count, isn't UGA 5-0, also. We lost to lipscomb in the first round, making all 4 (louisville, lipscomb, tech and tech) of the remaining games in the regionals elminimation games for the dawgs, the second against tech was a winner take all). Then we also beat NC State in the third game which was a winner take all elimination.
Perno surrendered when Dodson got shelled. He started putting in pitchers that haven't pitched in weeks. That's why FS kept scoring. I can't say it was a bad move, he was just trying to save some arms for tonight.
I'm not trying to criticize the kid at all. Hes definitely not the only one to have a mental lapse lately. It was just frustrating to see a sure out fall at his feet at such a crucial point. From the replay it looked like he may have misplayed it then he lackadaisically came up (probably assuming Beckham had it)and let it drop. He should have called Beckham off. That's what inexcusable to me.
However I'll give the kid a break since he made that home run saving catch the other night.
BTW does anyone know of a radio station this is being aired on? I just found out I'm having to travel tonight and will miss most of the game.
Their bullpen... any live arms remaining? Seems like if we can get to The Cajun Cook, Justin Wilson, early and often we could be the team putting up a football score tonight.
Sprague and Hower each threw 3 innings last night and Sprague threw an inning Sat. and an inning Sun. I think those two are probably done.
Miller and Allison are also probably both done, but Miller, who pitched 6 against UNC Sun. may be available.
That leaves Bonesteele (3 on Mon), Breckley (2 on Mon), Tomlinson (1.1 Mon), Floethe (0.2 Mon) and Burke (2 on Sun and 1 on Mon). Other than Burke, those are all 6+ ERA guys - not that that seemed to matter much at times on Monday night. But, I still think that if we can get their starter off the hill, we can rough them up sufficiently to bring home the hardware. It may take double digit runs, but our Dawgs are plenty capable. Regional Final vs GT = 18-6; Super Regional Final vs NC State = 17-8. How about one more football score for our Dawgs tonight!
Correction... Allison pitched 6 innings against UNC Sunday night.
seems to me that any team left standing is of course undefeated in elimination games.
Doesn't that go without saying?
Perno surrendered when Dodson got shelled. He started putting in pitchers that haven't pitched in weeks. That's why FS kept scoring. I can't say it was a bad move, he was just trying to save some arms for tonight.
I have not see the Dogs play baseball but twice this season. I know nothing about them at all. It is refreshing to know that the guys I saw pitching last night haven't pitched in weeks. Most looked like it was the first time they had ever pitched in their lives.
Hope he has arms for tonight. We are going to need them.
Perno has already said that tonight it's Moreau, Weaver, McRee and Fields. None of those guys pitched last night. They should be fresh.
Re: radio station.
If you have Sirius satellite radio (and I don't know why you would since the Dawgs football is on XM, but I made the mistake, so maybe you did too...) they're on Sirius.
14 days in Omaha is some sort of penance that no one should endure.
They better win this damm thing but with Moreau on the mound, better strap in kids.
960 am has it in Athens and north Georgia (almost to Atlanta) but their main announcer is almost as bad as Munson about getting down on the dawgs and how we can screw it up. Sometimes I really wonder which side he's on...
Anon 2:09,
What channel on Sirius? Yea, I messed up and got it when they signed the contract with SEC football.
Not sure re: the specific channel. If you browse by category though, you'll eventually get to it.
(Please note that Sirius just updated the channels yesterday; the game could be between 162 and 195, or it could be on Discovery Radio, Maxim Radio, etc.)
It will be there; Sirius has the entire CWS this year.
It's all or nothing tonight, Dawgs. Hunker down one more time!
You're kidding, right?
Jeff Dantler -- love him or hate him -- is the biggest UGA homer you'll find.
Wow... just Wow. Detweiler is killing us... 3 for 3 with 6 RBIs.
Steve Detweiler must be destroyed. $20 million bounty.
And the pitcher too. $40 million for both of them.
please, why do we have to give ESPN the satisfaction of having their blatant biases met with substantial support? God Dawgs can we at least score 1 run?
Crucify me, but I give up. Bring on the Eagles. I hate ESPN and I hope Erin Andrews and Mike Patrick both get smacked in the face with a line drive.
"Swift Kick in the Balls," indeed. Good season, Dawgs, though ultimately painfully incomplete. Come on home.
Post that picture of the toilet again. I've been getting sick all game long. Come on home boys, we won't forget this great run. Remember we were projected to finish last in the east, and you took the team to the CWS finals. We'll be back in 2010! Every other year it always seems to be.
I said it's great to be a Georgia Bulldog!
Wow, I've never seen a team beat so badly by one guy before. Seriously, that was amazing. You had to feel good for those guys, though. And if you really analyze it, we played well. Certainly better than the score indicated. They were loose, we were tight, and in the end I think that was the difference.
Wow...giving up in a big game.
Never seen that before.
At least I'm prepared for football season.
UGA 45 Austin Peay 0
UGA 41 South Carolina 17
UGA 43 Mizzou 29
UGA 38 Tenn 12
UGA 41 Vandy 13
UGA 66 UMass 27
UGA 45 Tech 21
SEC Championship:


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How to Prevent Bonking
Eating small meals helps keep my energy level up but I'm drained by 4 p.m., while large meals keep me satisfied but sluggish. What are some of the best foods to eat at the crag to feel energized throughout the day?
This article was published in Rock and Ice issue 183.
Eating small meals helps keep my energy level up but I'm drained by 4 p.m., while large meals keep me satisfied but sluggish. What are some of the best foods to eat at the crag to feel energized throughout the day?
——Amy Snyder | Blacksburg, Virginia
It is easy to be led astray by the hype surrounding the latest energy bar or drink, or to copy the strategy of
a climber who cranks harder than you, but when it comes to nutrition at the crag there really is no better expert than yourself. For example, I
have a high metabolism and need plenty of treats to get through a long day. In spite of what everyone knows about highs and lows from sugary foods,
I simply can't face a day without a few chocolate bars. However, this could be disastrous for some and I know plenty of climbers who have to stick
religiously to the rules. If you crave sugary foods but respond badly to them, go for things like fruit or nuts. Generally, it is best if your
intake of carbohydrates comes mainly from cereal bars, high-quality energy bars, nuts and foods that are low in simple sugars but high in complex
carbs. Foods such as bread, rice or pasta, consumed in small quantities every hour or two, will provide a steady release of energy. Many people
find that white bread and pasta can make them feel bloated and sluggish and most understand this to be caused by the high glycemic index [See G.
I. Yo! No. 167 for an explanation of glycemic index] associated with foods that are high in refined flour. Go for whole-grain products, or rice,
which has a lower overall GI.
Though you are doing the right thing by snacking rather than eating a large meal in the middle of the day, I suspect that an intake of high GI foods
could be responsible for your 4 p.m. fizzle. That said, another likely cause could be partial dehydration. Few of us consume sufficient water at
the crag and it is vital to sip at regular intervals. If you use energy drinks, go for the products that offer only complex sugars, or better,
try recovery drinks that consist of a mix of protein and carbohydrates.
Most of the information on sports nutrition is geared for activities where you need to sustain intense bursts of energy for no more than an hour or
two. Crag climbing is fundamentally different in that you need to maintain a steady level for an entire day, with a few short bursts when you're
on the rock.
A key, related issue (for me at least) is the intake of caffeine. We are told just to have one or two small cups of coffee at the start of the day
(too much caffeine can cause dehydration and give you the jitters) but I have found no better way of preparing myself for that final redpoint in
the conditions window at the end of the day than a quick hit of caramel cappuccino. Again, this works well for me but others may wreck their chances
by too much caffeine at the wrong time. Study and experiment. The tips above will help, but ultimately you must find a formula that works for you.
Also Read
Eat Fat, Climb Harder – The Ketogenic Diet
Nutrition: Eating Your Way to Better Climbing


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Let's Play Stump the Chump!
Send in your stumpers!
You know - that problem house, symptom or combination of symptoms that confounded the homeowner and challenged all your building science savvy to solve. Send BPI a description of the problem – and the solution, which will be kept secret. If it's a genuine stumper, it may be published in the next HVAC2HP e-newsletter. Send stumpers to firstname.lastname@example.com.
This stumper is reprinted with permission from BPI.
Answer to Last Month's Stumper:
Congratulations to Jeff Flaherty of Wise Home Energy in Rochester, NY for being the only person to correctly diagnose last month's stumper!
As a reminder, Marc Sardino of Comfort Home Improvement in Syracuse, NY received a call from the owner and inhabitant of a 1,900 square foot colonial house, built in the 1990s, with a complaint of moisture build-up in the home. The problem was so severe that water was dripping from most of the insulated walls. Mold was found on the roof deck and gable walls, but the basement was dry as a bone. The home had a natural gas furnace circa 1999, and proper gutters and drainage around the home, yet the issue persisted.
Jeff provided a number of possibilities in a "shotgun" approach to solving the problem, but the one that took the cake was identifying the likelihood that the furnace humidifier was stuck in the on position. This caused the system to constantly dump water directly into the cold air return, which was distributing the moisture throughout the home, causing the condensation on the walls and the mold in the attic.
This Month's Stumper:
This month's stumper comes from a chump who's actually stumped! Ed Revers of Michell Timperman Ritz Architects in New Albany, Indiana has been scratching his head about this one and is wondering if you can help.
Ed explains that he has been working on a 50-year-old house that has a 4-ton, top-of-the-line Florida Heat pump system, with all the energy saving bells and whistles (hot water de-super heater, four-zone stats on Arzel control board, etc). After 2 years of utility bills, the energy savings are nowhere near what the geothermal manufacturers claim they should be. The new energy bills (gas and electric combined) are the same as the past 20 years, during which an old forced-air conventional gas furnace was used. The mechanical contractor has come out several times to check things and reports that it is working fine. The house was super-insulated when the new geothermal system was made operational. It isn't easy to compare old to new systems equally, because an addition of about 25 percent was added to the house when the new system was installed.
Background: The house is in the Louisville, Kentucky area and is now a 2850 sq. ft. ranch with a basement. Mechanical installation costs exceeded $30K, with four grouted wells at 150' depth each. At the recommendation of the mechanical contractor, the house was zoned because the existing house limited duct work configuration options and R-values weren't equal everywhere. The new system performs well (70 in the summer and 68 in the winter), but the energy savings are disappointing. The weather has actually been pretty mild the past few years too. As a newly accredited BPI Building Analyst, Ed considers the house to be tight and well insulated; although no blower door test or duct efficiency test has been performed to verify this. Gas and electric usage is probably below average for a family of four. Any clue as to what would help lower the utility bills and make the system less expensive to operate?
Ed Revers is an Architect Intern and Construction Project Manager with Michell Timperman Ritz Architects in New Albany, Indiana, and has been with the company for over 17 years. Ed manages a variety of construction projects, ranging from initial concept to final build. This year, Ed became BPI Building Analyst and Envelope Shell certified, while also becoming a LEED Green Associate.
Think you know what the problem is, as well as the solution? Send it to firstname.lastname@example.com.
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Decode an ad from a Presidential candidate
For any Facebook ad paid for by the Trump or Biden campaigns, copy:
- The link in any Trump or Biden ad you see on Facebook
- Any link to a Trump or Biden ad in the Facebook Ad Library
- Any Facebook Ad Library ID
- Paste it in the text box below and click "Decode it!"
The Trump campaign wants your personal data
We want YOU to join Black Voices for Trump today!
- Ad delivery start
- 02 June 2020, 15:00:48 EST
- Ad delivery stop
- 07 June 2020, 23:59:00 EST
They think:
- you are 18-65 years old
- you are on a custom audience list, and perhaps have interacted with the campaign before


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Please fill out the form below and a Vintage King Audio Consultant will contact you with a ship date for the Avid Pro Tools|HD3 to HDX PCIe Card.
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text: The following Please Don't Spoil Me Season 4 (2023) Episode 22 Eng Sub has been released. Please Don't Spoil Me Season 4 (2023) Ep 22 English Sub Dramacool And Kissasian will always be the first to have the episode so please Bookmark and visit daily for the latest updates!!! Enjoy a free download.


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Dr. Murray Feingold: Stave off the holiday blues this season
There are 32 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas and then six days between Christmas and New Years. This has been described as the "holiday season." It should be a joyous time spent with family and friends participating in various happy festivities. But, it is also a time that may be hazardous to your physical and mental health.
As November leaps into December, each day may bring you closer to the holiday blues. There are many reasons for depression during this time such as not being close to your family or friends, unhappy childhood holiday memories, illness, financial stress and the list goes on and on.
Some people can successfully face the burdens that have been presented to them, but others may need help to overcome the depression that has descended upon them. If so, then seek help because managing the holiday blues alone may be insurmountable.
For many people, it is also a time that is filled with anxiety — almost all of it self-inflicted and not worth the worry.
Step back and look at the big picture. Does it really matter if you bought Junior only five gifts instead of six? Will anyone really notice that you bought the wrong brand of cranberry sauce for Christmas dinner? And does it really make that much difference if your holiday cards arrive a few days late.
Remember the lyrics, "Don't worry, be happy."
Then there are the excessive gastrointestinal and alcoholic consumption issues. Succinctly put — eating and drinking too much. During the holidays, there is usually nothing wrong with eating an extra cookie or two. Or, instead of one drink, drinking two. But it is when you overdo it that you get into trouble. It's an easy way to put a damper on what is suppose to be a happy time. Use your common sense.
Also, be realistic in your expectations concerning how good a time you will have during the holidays. Remember, if Uncle Timmy is an unpleasant person, he most likely will be the same during the holidays.
Travel usually isn't great during the year and it's going to be even worse during the holidays.
If you and your sister-in-law don't get along, you are probably not going to have a warm and fuzzy relationship at the family get together.
So, have reasonable expectations, don't overdo it, don't worry about inconsequential issues and use good common sense.
Make every effort to be certain that the holidays are what they should be — happy memories.
Massachusetts-based Dr. Murray Feingold is the physician in chief of The Feingold Center for Children and president of the Genesis Fund, a nonprofit organization that funds the care of children born with birth defects, mental retardation and genetic diseases.


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Israel drawn into Syria fighting for first time
Israel was drawn into the fighting in neighboring Syria for the first time Sunday, firing warning shots across the border after an errant mortar shell landed near an Israeli military installation in the Golan Heights.
While Israel appeared eager to calm the situation, its response was a potent reminder of how easily the Syrian civil war — already spilling across borders with Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan — could explode into a wider regional conflagration.
Israeli officials threatened even tougher retaliation if attacks persist.
They have feared that the instability in Syria over the past 19 months could spill across the border into Israel, particularly as President Bashar Assad's grip on power grows increasingly precarious.
Israel has little love for Assad, who has provided refuge and support to Israel's bitterest enemies through the years. But the Syrian leader — and his father before him — have kept the frontier quiet for nearly four decades, providing a rare source of stability in the volatile region.
The Israeli military said the mortar fire caused no injuries or damage at the post in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast war and then annexed.
In recent weeks, incidents of errant fire from Syria have multiplied, leading Israel to warn that it holds Syria responsible. Israeli officials believe most of the fire has come from Syrian government forces, although they think it has been inadvertent and not been aimed at Israel.
After responding to Sunday's mortar strike, the Israeli military moved quickly to defuse tensions.
"We understand this was a mistake and was not meant to target Israel, and then that is why we fired a warning shot in retaliation," said Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich, a military spokeswoman. Defense officials said an anti-tank missile was fired, and there were no reports of casualties in Syria.
The Israeli military also said it filed a complaint through United Nations forces operating in the area, stating that "fire emanating from Syria into Israel will not be tolerated and shall be responded to with severity."
Israeli defense officials said the incident was not considered a serious military threat, but Israel felt the need to respond in order to set clear limits for the Syrians.
Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israeli defense forces have been instructed "to prevent the battles from spilling over into our territory."
"Additional shelling into Israel from Syria will elicit a tougher response; exacting a higher price from Syria," Barak said.
Nineteen months of fighting and the mounting chaos engulfing the Assad regime have already shaken the region, spilling into Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. In new violence Sunday, Syrian army forces backed by helicopter gunships and artillery attacked a border area with Turkey after rebels captured a crossing point, activists said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based activist group, said the Ras al-Ayn border area in Syria's northeast was "under siege" as dozens of rebels tried to hold onto the border crossing.
The entry of Israel into the fighting would take the violence to a new level. Although Israel has a more powerful military, both countries have air forces and significant arsenals of tanks, missiles and other weapons. Israel is especially concerned about Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons.
An Israeli war on Syria could also draw in Syria's ally, Hezbollah, further destabilizing the region. Hezbollah, which possesses tens of thousands of rockets and missiles, battled Israel to a stalemate during a monthlong war in 2006.
On Israel's southern flank, Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, who battled Israeli forces over the weekend, might also enter the fray.
Yiftah Shapir, an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies, a Tel Aviv think tank, said neither Israel nor Syria has an interest in allowing Sunday's hostilities to spin out of control.
"I see the warning fire as an attempt to prevent any escalation," he said. "In Israel, no one wants a war with Syria or even an attempt to intervene in the events. The only thing that worries us is a spillover by this form or another. So I think it's a warning: 'Take care.'"
For Assad, a war with Israel could bring the end of his teetering regime. Israeli officials have said for months that it is only a matter of time before he is ousted.
The Israeli air force has repeatedly demonstrated its superiority over Assad's outdated military, buzzing his residence in one famous instance to protest attacks by Syrian-backed militants and carrying out an airstrike on what the U.S. later said was an unfinished nuclear reactor.
Nonetheless, Israel worries the fall of Assad could have a range of grave consequences.
Officials have repeatedly warned that Assad may attack Israel in a final act of desperation if he fears his days are numbered. Israel also fears Syria could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists or descend into sectarian warfare.
Another lingering fear is that Syria's chemical weapons and missile could fall into the hands of its Lebanese ally, the Hezbollah guerrilla group, or other anti-Israel militants if Assad loses power. There are also concerns that Syria could become a staging ground for attacks by al-Qaida-linked groups battling Assad.
The aftermath of Egypt's revolution has provided Israel with reason to worry about its frontier region with Syria: Egypt's Sinai desert on Israel's southern border has turned even more lawless since longtime Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February 2011, and Islamic militants are now more easily able to use it as a launching ground for strikes against southern Israel.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his Cabinet that Israel is "closely monitoring" the border with Syria and is "ready for any development."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement from his New York office that the shelling was reported in the U.N.-monitored zone between Israel and Syria, but no injuries to civilians or U.N. personnel were reported.
Ban called "for the utmost restraint" and urged Syria and Israel to uphold their cease-fire agreement and halt any exchange of fire.
The violence in Syria has killed more than 36,000 people in the uprising that began in March 2011. Hundreds of thousands have fled the fighting into neighboring Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Another 11,000 escaped Friday into Turkey following the surge of fighting at Ras al-Ayn.
Ismail Aslan, the mayor of the nearby Turkish town of Ceylanpinar, said the number of refugees had slowed significantly Sunday. But Turkish soldiers at the border turned back some of the refugees who had arrived late last week and wanted to return to Ras al-Ayn, saying the area was not secure.
Activists reported clashes and shelling in different parts of Syria, killing almost 60 people, nearly two-thirds of them civilians.
The violence spread in most provinces around the country from Diaraa and Quneitra in the south to Idlib and Aleppo in the north to Homs and Hama in the center and Deir el-Zour in the east.
There also was fighting in Damascus and its suburbs, mostly in the capital's southern neighborhood of Tadamon.
In Qatar, Syrian activists said anti-government groups had reached a preliminary deal to form a new opposition leadership under pressure from the international community.
Ali Sadr el-Din Bayanouni, a former Syrian Muslim Brotherhood leader, said a broad agreement has been struck among the opposition factions to form a new group called the Syrian National Coalition for Opposition and Revolutionary Forces.
The new leadership, which was to choose a president later Sunday, will include representatives from the largest current opposition group, the Syrian National Council.
The Syrian opposition has been deeply divided for months despite repeated calls for them to unite.
The United States has become increasingly frustrated with the opposition's inability to form a common front and present a single conduit for foreign support.
Lauren E. Bohn in Jerusalem, Jamal Halaby in Amman, Jordan, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Mehmet Guzel in Ceylanpinar, Turkey, and Abdullah Rebhy in Doha, Qatar, contributed reporting.
Federman can be followed at www.twitter.com/joseffederman.


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For HVAC Contractors, Home Performance Delivers a Year-Round Blast
Last December's weather was no more extreme than the norm in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where temperatures can swing from above 100°F in summer to below zero in winter. Yet for Air Solutions Heating & Cooling, a 19-employee HVAC contractor serving the Tulsa area since 1997, last December was "the best we've ever had," says founder and owner Keith Hilligoss.
The reason is simple. Motivated by an "incredible incentive" (customer rebates of up to several thousand dollars) from the Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), Air Solutions catapulted to the front of the city's tiny home performance industry within months. As a result, Hilligoss's staff are more engaged in their work, projects have grown, clients are referring more business, and annual revenues are on track for an all-time high of $3.2 million this year, up from around $1.8 million in 2010.
"In our market, winter is typically slow, so it's great to keep our guys busy all year with insulating and air sealing," says Hilligoss.
Nearly 2,000 miles northeast, in Lansing, Michigan, Comfort First Heating and Cooling has embraced home performance since 2004, six years after Brad Mann started the business with his father. Michigan's brutal winters have always placed a premium on indoor comfort and energy conservation, but Mann also recognized that diversification would help his business ride out economic ups and downs.
Now, about 80% of Comfort First's approximately $1 million volume involves the retrofit market. By taking advantage of financing and incentive programs, speaking to homeowners in language they understand, and focusing on the root of home comfort problems, the company has become first and foremost a home performance contractor, and only incidentally an HVAC contractor.
Like many HVAC contractors, Hilligoss and Mann have seen demand for their core services dwindle since new construction collapsed. Unlike their peers, however, they have not only survived but thrived by incorporating home performance into their business. Through continuous evolution, they are converting more prospects to sales; producing larger work scopes; and increasing client satisfaction, loyalty, and referrals.
The Message Is Comfort
In Mann's case, home performance is woven into nearly every job, where all installers and sales staff have Building Performance Institute (BPI) certifications. Appropriately, comfort is the primary sales message. While the internal target is to reduce air infiltration by 30% on every project, the promise is to solve the customer's comfort problems—and it's backed by a 100% guarantee.
"One of this industry's biggest problems is thinking that everyone really cares about saving the planet," says Mann. "Most homeowners care more about helping their asthma or being more comfortable."
How do you get homeowners to speak the language of home performance? Easy: Don't even try. Too much talk of CFM and R-values will cause customers to shut down, says Mann.
Despite Comfort First's low-pressure message, its solutions don't compromise. The company's average home performance ticket price is in the range of $7,500–8,000—without an HVAC system upgrade. "That's because I won't let customers choose to only air seal part of their home," Mann says. "We explain that we're a home performance contractor, and it's important to focus on the entire house."
Following through on the satisfaction guarantee, Mann and his staff check in with past customers regularly. Time and again, the talk is not of utility bills, but of comfort. "I'll say, 'How is your gas bill?' They'll say, 'I don't know, but I do know that our A/C doesn't come on until 3 pm, it cools so efficiently now.'"
Opening New Doors
As a relative newcomer to home performance, Hilligoss understands his HVAC peers' wariness toward the field. He had to shed some skepticism to take the plunge himself. He started Air Solutions Heating & Cooling when he was just 26, and for the next 14 years learned the business one project at a time. "We were following the same path as all the others, going out and basically not looking beyond heating and air systems," he says.
In more recent years, even as Hilligoss and his staff learned more about Duct Blasters and blower doors, they considered home performance primarily an East Coast fad that would never catch on among conservative Tulsa homeowners, whose utility bills tend not to be high to begin with.
Hilligoss challenged his own perception last fall when he learned of PSO's Residential Solutions program, which requires participating contractors to employ at least one individual with a BPI Building Analyst certification in each of its locations. Among the attractive incentives were job completion bonuses, and assistance with training, marketing, and public awareness.
Home performance turned out to be a natural fit for HVAC contractors. Unlike many specialized contractors, "we're focused on finding ways for homeowners to save money and be more comfortable," Hilligoss explains. Further, Tulsa's diverse and allergen-rich environment is ideal for selling efficiency improvements based on comfort and air quality—benefits that he and others say resonate more strongly with homeowners than energy savings.
Almost every call we go on is an opportunity to talk about home performance in one way, shape, or form.
—Brad Mann, Comfort First Heating and Cooling
Hilligoss's staff quickly embraced home performance, too. Enriched through training and on-the-job learning, they "understand concepts like air leakage, and what's required to fix it correctly," he says. "They love it; they say it's like being a detective," with each "case" presenting a unique set of clues and challenges.
At Comfort First, Brad Mann says his staff also like the problem-solving nature of home performance. His customers do, too. He speculates that his company's lead-to-sales conversions are high "because my people are so much more knowledgeable" than most traditional HVAC contractors. "One thing we hear a lot is 'We went with you because you were the only ones to point out that the HVAC ductwork was inadequate,'" or some other issue not directly related to the reason for the call. "When we're in somebody's house, we look at a multitude of things" that could be causing comfort problems.
Leveraging New Marketing Tools
To differing degrees, both companies leverage marketing strategies to spread the word about their companies' home performance work. At Comfort First, existing customers get cash credits for referring friends and neighbors. Credits range from $10 for referring a simple service call to $90 for major retrofits of $2,000 or more.
Among Air Solutions' marketing campaigns is fairly aggressive use of social media, including an integrated campaign involving TV commercials, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. The company's Spot That Van contest, for instance, has proven to be "one of the best marketing programs we've ever done," says Hilligoss. Launched through a TV commercial, the campaign invites Tulsa consumers to snap photos of Air Solutions vans they see about town and post them on the company's Facebook page to win a free lawn chair, and become eligible for a monthly $250 Visa gift card drawing.
"For visibility and engagement, the program can't be beat," Hilligoss says. Dozens of photos have been posted on the company's Facebook page, which has close to 900 "likes." Moreover, Air Solutions' bright green lawn chairs are now seen all over the Tulsa market, including at sporting events.
Internally, a staff referral program incentivizes HVAC service technicians to be alert to undiagnosed home performance problems. Should an Air Solutions "comfort consultant" visit the home and make a sale, 2% of the contract value is credited back to the referring technician. "They love it," says Hilligoss.
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