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Technical Resources
1997 National Resources Inventory, Revised December 2000
This bulletin presents revised summary results from the 1997 National Resources Inventory (NRI). The NRI is conducted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service, in cooperation with the Iowa State University Statistical Laboratory.
This bulletin has been reissued because in March 2000 an error was discovered in the 1997 NRI results originally issued in December 1999. The error was in the statistical software used by the Statistical Laboratory to calculate estimates for the inventory. Re-release of the inventory results was delayed until December 2000 in order to conduct a complete quality assurance review of all phases of the inventory, to institute a number of additional quality checks, and to include wetlands data in the final release.
The most noticeable difference between the data released in December 1999 and the corrected estimates issued in December 2000 is in the estimated increase in developed lands. The corrected data show an increase of 11.2 million acres during the period 1992 to 1997; this figure is 30% lower than the December 1999 estimate. The corrected estimate of total developed land for 1997 is 98.3 million acres, which is 7.1 million acres lower than the December 1999 estimate. This means the revised figures show an additional 7.1 million acres of rural land for 1997 and, subsequently, more acres of cropland, rangeland, and forest land than were reported in December 1999.
The computer programming error occurred in a portion of the statistical estimation procedure that assigns weights to sample points. These weights are based on sampling (selection) probabilities, estimates from previous NRIs, and known land base attributes from the Census Bureau and other sources. Because of the programming error, incorrect weights were assigned to some sample points. Sample points that changed into developed land were affected in a systematic manner (not randomly), so that the corrections lowered all estimates of 1997 developed land.
This bulletin includes state and national level estimates for changes in broad land cover/use, cropland use by irrigated and nonirrigated acres, broad land cover/use by land capability class and subclass, prime farmland, erosion and erodibility, wildlife habitat diversity, and wetlands and deepwater habitats. These basic summary statistics are presented via the Internet and in hard copy to provide base-line natural resource information to a variety of groups and individuals interested in obtaining insight into the condition of our Nation's nonfederal rural lands. Subsequent sections of this bulletin discuss the broader suite of information available from the 1997 NRI and methods for obtaining access to other results.
The NRI is a scientifically based, longitudinal panel survey of the Nation's soil, water, and related resources, designed to assess conditions and trends every five years. The 1997 NRI provides results that are nationally consistent for all nonfederal lands for four points in time — 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service, formerly the Soil Conservation Service, was established in response to the Dust Bowl catastrophe of the mid-1930's. Hugh Hammond Bennett, the agency founder and first administrator, convinced the U. S. Congress that soil erosion was a national menace and that a permanent agency within the Department of Agriculture was needed to call landowners' attention to their land stewardship opportunities and responsibilities. The results of the 1934 National Erosion Reconnaissance Survey, which was the first formal study of erosion conducted in the United States, were instrumental in the passage of the Soil Conservation Act of 1935. Through the Act, the Soil Conservation Service was established, and a nationwide partnership of federal agencies, local conservation districts, and communities was developed to provide assistance to the rural and urban sectors in the conservation of natural resources. Today, more than 60 years later, NRCS champions the vitality of the land as USDA's lead conservation agency. No other federal agency speaks for the health of America's private land.
Throughout its history, NRCS has conducted periodic inventories of the Nation's natural resources. The 1945 Soil and Water Conservation Needs Inventory (CNI), a reconnaissance study, was the foundation for the 1958 and 1967 CNI's, the agency's first efforts to collect data nationally for scientifically selected field sites. The 1975 Potential Cropland Study examined the conversion of the Nation's best farmland to urban development. National Resources Inventories were conducted in 1977, 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997. Several less intensive, special-issue inventories have been performed during the 1990's to investigate topical matters of concern and to supplement recent NRIs.
In addition to these recurrent NRI inventories, NRCS also collects large quantities of field level natural resources data in support of conservation planning activities and the Soil Survey Program. Thousands of NRCS technical specialists, including soil scientists, soil conservationists, range conservationists, foresters, wildlife biologists, and agronomists, collect data at the field and farm level in order to provide conservation assistance to farmers and ranchers in the development of conservation systems uniquely tailored to the land and their individual way of doing business. Assistance is also provided to rural and urban communities to help reduce erosion, conserve and protect water resources, and solve other resource-related problems. The information that NRCS collects about natural resources in the United States is critical for sustaining agriculture, promoting the conservation and stewardship ethic, and preserving the health of the Nation's natural resources and environment.
Legislation also has mandated that NRCS collect natural resources data. The Rural Development Act of 1972 was a key statute in authorizing resource inventory activities within NRCS. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to implement a land inventory and monitoring program and to issue a report on the conditions and trends of soil, water, and related resources at intervals not exceeding 5 years. The Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 and other supporting legislation augmented the statutory mandate for periodic assessment of the Nation's natural resources. To fulfill this requirement, the NRI was developed to provide critical information regarding natural resources and to supplement the NRCS Soil Survey Program.
The objectives of NRCS resource inventories have expanded over time, as the focus of agricultural policy has moved toward a balance between short-term production goals, long-term capabilities, and environmental quality. Statistical techniques, data collection protocols, and data handling and dissemination technologies have evolved as inventory goals have become broader and more sophisticated.
The primary objective of the 1997 NRI was to provide natural resource managers, policy makers, and the public with scientifically valid, timely, and relevant information on natural resources and the environment. This information can provide the scientific basis for effective public policies, sound agricultural and natural resource legislation, sensible state and national conservation programs, and targeted USDA financial and technical assistance in addressing natural resource concerns. NRI data are designed to be part of the core components of the agency's strategic planning and accountability efforts, and to help assess consequences of existing legislative mandates, such as the 1996 Farm Bill.
To accomplish these objectives in a cost-effective manner, it was necessary to conduct the 1997 NRI in much the same manner as the 1992 NRI. Careful consideration was given to assure that 1997 NRI data elements were consistent with definitions, categories, and concepts from previous inventories. The same sample used for the 1992 NRI was used for 1997 data collection. This enables analysis of trends extending over 15 years (1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997).
NRI data are collected at scientifically selected sample sites. The sample constitutes a two-stage stratified area sample of the entire country. Samples are located in all counties and parishes of the 50 states and in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the District of Columbia, and selected portions of the Pacific Basin. The first-stage sampling unit, or primary sampling unit (PSU), is an area/segment of land; the second-stage sampling units are points located within the PSUs. Detailed NRI data are collected for the specific sample points, but some items are also collected for the entire PSU/segment. Some data, such as total surface area, federally owned land, and area in large water bodies, are collected on a census basis external to the sample survey. The NRI database accounts for and represents the total area of the United States, but very little information is given for points on federal lands.
Data for the 1997 NRI were collected for about 300,000 PSUs and 800,000 sample points, using photo-interpretation and other remote sensing methods and standards. Data gatherers utilized a variety of ancillary materials; extensive use was made of USDA field office records, information provided by local NRCS field personnel, soil survey and wetland inventory maps and reports, and tables and technical guides developed by local field office staffs. The NRI is unique because of established linkages to the NRCS Soil Survey Program. NRCS expertise in identifying soil occurrences and patterns, and utilizing this knowledge to provide technical assistance in the development of conservation plans for landowners is a primary agency function. The NRI data gathering process relies heavily upon information contained in the Soil Survey Database. Information about specific properties and characteristics of the soil and surrounding landscapes is utilized to develop NRI data elements and interpretations. NRI data is a primary source of information for evaluating the success of NRCS soil conservation programs in reducing soil erosion.
Inventory procedures were developed to ensure that data reflect 1997 growing season conditions, that inventory results are nationally consistent, and that data recorded for the years 1982, 1987, and 1992 are consistent with the 1997 determination. Intricate quality assurance procedures were developed to make sure that year-to-year differences reflect actual changes in resource conditions, rather than differences in the perspectives of two different data collection specialists or changes in technologies and protocols.
Data gathering for the 1997 NRI occurred from July 1997 through October 1998. This time frame took into account that some aerial photography needed to be flown during a time period that highlighted late growing season conditions. Consequently, delivery of imagery to some data collection sites did not occur until later in the data collection cycle.
Field visits were not required for the 1997 NRI unless available imagery and ancillary materials were not suitable for making determinations for one or more data elements. Field visits were also made for training purposes and other facets of the quality assurance process. All NRI sample sites were visited on-site for the 1982 NRI. Subsequent on-site visits of selected PSUs also occurred in 1987, 1991, 1992, or 1995.
The computer-assisted survey information collection methods developed for the 1997 NRI provided substantial efficiencies in data gathering and data processing and were important facets of the quality assurance process. The system featured direct entry of data into hand-held computers called personal digital assistants (PDAs), modern information technology, a national database server at the Iowa State University Statistical Laboratory, and elaborate data checking protocols that featured review and edit of data recorded during previous inventories.
Standards and protocols for the NRI were developed nationally by NRCS, in collaboration with the Statistical Laboratory. Oversight and management of data-gathering activities were assigned to 21 units established during 1996 and 1997. These units, called Inventory Collection and Coordination Sites (ICCS's) were established according to regional land use patterns and according to state allocations of resources. Geographic boundaries of ICCS organizations ranged from one state to all or portions of several states. Some ICCS's distributed data collection staff among multiple office locations, while others assembled staff at one central location.
Inventory methodology is evolving as part of an ongoing effort to better assess soil conservation, natural resource health, and other agri-environmental issues. The NRI has been conducted as a longitudinal survey designed to assess condition and trends of nonfederal lands every 5 years. Current initiatives include transitioning to a continuous resource inventory process, developing a multi-agency integrated inventory approach, incorporating a wider variety of assessment tools for resource health, and further development of geospatial analysis and modeling capabilities to support policy analysis and program implementation.
The NRI database contains millions of pieces of information. It can serve as the foundation for inspection and analysis of the condition of our Nation's natural resources. It indicates
The NRI database has been constructed in a manner that facilitates the inspection and analysis of these data. Sophisticated statistical procedures developed collaboratively with Iowa State University have been used to provide a database that scientifically incorporates a broad array of data into a format that is easy to use and manipulate. Appendix 1 presents an overview of statistical considerations and provides references that contain further details.
The 1997 NRI database contains data for four points in time (1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997) that are comparable and consistent, and that reflect true trends. Reliable and accurate temporal analysis is available from this data set. Analytical capabilities are greatly enhanced because NRCS's extensive soil interpretations database is an integral and easy-to-use part of the NRI database.
The NRI is conducted to obtain scientifically valid, timely, and relevant data on natural resources and environmental conditions, with the specific goal of supporting agricultural and environmental policy development and program implementation. Historically, NRI information has been used to formulate effective public policies, to fashion agricultural and natural resources legislation, to develop state and national conservation programs, to allocate USDA financial and technical assistance in addressing natural resource concerns, and to enhance the public's understanding of natural resources and environmental issues. Information derived from the NRI is used by natural resource managers; policy makers and analysts; consultants; the media; other federal agencies; state governments; universities; environmental, commodity, and farm groups; and the public.
Statistics derived from the NRI database are estimates and not absolutes. This means that there is some amount of uncertainty in any result obtained using NRI data. Statistical reliability guidelines are discussed in Appendix 1.
The NRI database contains linkages to other databases, in particular to the agency's extensive soil interpretations database. Linkages can be made to other databases by using other themes, such as cover/use, forest cover type, and spatial features. Analysis of NRI data in conjunction with other data sources is encouraged; nonetheless, differences in definitions, concepts, and data collection protocols should be carefully examined. It is worth repeating that the NRI includes very little data for federal lands.
The 1997 NRI database has been designed for use in detecting significant changes in resource conditions relative to the years 1982, 1987, 1992, and 1997. All comparisons for two points in time should be made using the new 1997 NRI database. Comparisons made using data published for the 1982, 1987, or 1992 NRI may produce erroneous results, because of changes in statistical estimation protocols, and because all data collected prior to 1997 were simultaneously reviewed (edited) as 1997 NRI data were collected. Note, for example, that federal land area for 1992 has been adjusted from 408 to 402 million acres, and that the estimate of 1992 nonfederal rangeland has changed from 399 to 407 million acres.
The NRI provides not only overall estimates of change in resource conditions but also the dynamics of the changes. For example, it is typically more informative to examine gross losses and gains in cropland (rather than just the net change from one year to another) and further to determine why cropland was lost (e.g., to urban development), how much had been prime farmland, and "where" these losses are occurring. If new cropland is gained, the question is whether this will cause additional conservation and environmental concerns because the new cropland is more erodible, or the soils are less productive and require higher levels of fertilization, or the land is sited in some other sensitive location.
The erosion data cannot be used to compute the actual erosion occurring during a particular year. Erosion rates are estimated average annual (or expected) rates based upon the cropping practices, management practices, and inherent resource conditions that occur at each NRI sample site. Climatic factors used in the erosion prediction equations (models) are based upon long-term average conditions and not upon one year's actual events. Note also that NRI estimates of sheet and rill erosion are based upon the standard Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE) and not the revised USLE (RUSLE), and that erosion estimates are made only for cropland, CRP land, and pastureland.
The NRI category of "developed land" varies from that used by some other data collection entities. For the NRI, the intent is to identify which lands have been permanently removed from the rural land base. Therefore, the developed land category includes: (a) large tracts of urban and built-up land; (b) small tracts of built-up land, less than 10 acres in size; and (c) land outside of these built-up areas that is in roads, railroads, and associated rights-of-way.
The 1997 NRI shows only minor changes in land under Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts for the time period 1992 to 1997, even though most original CRP contracts expired in the mid-1990's and there were extensive sign-ups during that period. This is because the 1997 NRI reflects conditions as of the 1997 growing season, and most actual on-the-ground changes in CRP land did not occur until later in 1997 or until the 1998 growing season.
For the NRI, land is considered irrigated if irrigation occurs during the year of inventory, or for two or more of the last four years. Other entities typically consider land to be irrigated only if irrigation water is applied for the year of interest.
NRI classification of wetlands is slightly different than that used by the Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) in their statistically based Wetlands Status and Trends study. The NRI and the FWS inventory have different legislative mandates; sampling methodology, inventory protocols, data handling, and analysis routines have evolved independently over the past two decades. Recent collaborative efforts have resulted in enhanced classifications for both programs, but wetlands data collected by the two agencies are currently neither comparable nor interchangeable. The NRI multi-resource approach is quite beneficial to USDA analysts and others who examine conservation and agri-environmental issues. Results from the FWS study are quite beneficial to the Department of Interior and others.
The NRI has been designed to facilitate geospatial analysis. This not only enhances the analysis process, but also makes it possible to use a map to present analytical findings. Maps produced from NRI data depict only patterns or trends within an area and do not provide an estimate of conditions for any specific location on the map.
This report presents selected NRI summary data at the national level. Further information regarding the NRI and additional data summaries can be obtained from the national NRI site.
Additional data summaries from the NRI will be released periodically as more comprehensive analyses are performed. Of particular interest are detailed compilations of data at the state level, which can be accessed via this Internet site. Active links to individual state Internet sites are available for obtaining specific state-level NRI information.
On the following pages selected national summary data are displayed in 19 tables. Definitions of terms are the same as for the 1992 NRI (see Appendix 3 — Glossary of Selected Terms). National totals include results for the 48 contiguous states, Hawaii, and the Caribbean area. Results for Alaska and the Pacific Basin islands of Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan will be released at a later date.
The category "other rural land," which occurs in many of the tables, includes farmsteads and other farm structures, field windbreaks, barren land such as salt flats or exposed rock, and marshland.
The figures used in the tables are estimates, not absolutes. They are based on data collected at sample sites, not data taken from a complete census. Therefore, sampling variation is present but generally small for state and national totals. However, sampling variation may be significant when using these totals to calculate 5- and 10-year changes. Small changes may not be statistically significant.
Table 1 presents NRI findings on surface area, federal land, nonfederal rural land, developed land, and water area. Since 1982, federal land increased by 2.7 million acres, nonfederal rural land decreased by 28.9 million acres, and developed land increased by 25.0 million acres. Developed land totaled 98.3 million acres in 1997 (fig. 1).
Tables 2 and 3 present estimates of acreage of land cover/use for six components of nonfederal rural land (cropland, CRP land, pastureland, rangeland, forest land, and other rural land). Cropland is classified as irrigated, nonirrigated, cultivated, or noncultivated acreage. Cropland acreage nationally decreased by 44.0 million acres between 1982 and 1997. Rangeland decreased by 10.8 million acres and pastureland decreased by 12.0 million acres. Table 3 further reveals a shift in irrigated agriculture from west to east across the country.
Table 4 presents acres of land cover/use by land capability class and subclass. The land capability classification system was originally developed by the Soil Conservation Service and provides a quick, uniform, and useful way to evaluate the potential of land for crop production. Each capability class has several subclasses to identify specific limitations on use:
e = erosion risk,
w = wetness,
s = shallowness or root zone problems, and
c = climatic limitations.
Class I soils have few limitations that restrict their use. Class II soils have moderate limitations that reduce the choice of plants or that require careful management. Land identified as Class IIe, for example, would be suitable for growing crops if adequate measures were installed to reduce or prevent soil erosion.
Class III soils have severe limitations that reduce the choice of plants, require special conservation practices, or both. Class IV soils have very severe limitations that reduce the choice of plants, require very careful management, or both.
Class V soils are not likely to erode but have other limitations, impractical to remove, that limit their use largely to pasture or range, woodland or wildlife. Class VI soils have severe limitations that make them generally unsuitable for cultivation and limit their use largely to pasture, range, woodland, or wildlife. Class VII soils have very severe limitations that make them generally unsuitable for cultivation and limit their use largely to pasture, range, woodland, or wildlife. Class VIII soils and miscellaneous land types have limitations that preclude their use for commercial crop production and restrict their use for recreation, wildlife, water supply, or esthetic purposes.
Tables 5, 6, 7, and 8 provide an overview of land use changes from 1982-97, 1982-87, 1987-92, and 1992-97. These tables show all land conversions, whereas previous tables presented net land use change. For example, table 5 shows that a total of 70.7 million acres of 1982 cropland was converted to other uses by 1997, which was offset by 26.7 million acres converted to cropland from non-cropland uses since 1982. The net change was therefore a reduction of 44.0 million acres of cropland, as shown in table 2. Table 5 further shows that, of the 70.7 million acres of cropland converted to other uses, 30.4 million acres went to CRP, 19.3 million acres went to pastureland, 3.7 million acres went to rangeland, 5.6 million acres went to forest land, 3.2 million acres went to other rural land, 7.1 million acres went to developed land, and 1.5 million acres went to water areas and federal land. Of the 26.7 million acres converted to cropland from other uses, 15.3 million acres came from pastureland, 7.0 million acres came from rangeland, 2.0 million acres came from forest land, 1.4 million acres came from other rural land, 0.2 million acres came from developed land, and 0.8 million acres came from water areas and federal land.
Table 9 presents the distribution of prime farmland by land cover/use. Prime farmland is land that has the best combination of physical and chemical characteristics for producing food, feed, forage, fiber, and oilseed crops and is also available for these uses. There were 331.9 million acres of prime farmland in 1997, which was down 10.0 million acres from 1982. Most (64%) of the prime farmland is in cropland, but large amounts are in pastureland (35.5 million acres) and forest land (48.7 million acres).
Tables 10 and 11 present estimates from the NRI for soil erosion rates. Table 10 shows rates of sheet and rill erosion, which is erosion caused by water; table 11 presents estimates of wind erosion. Average erosion rates for 1997 are substantially lower than erosion rates for 1982. The average rate of sheet and rill erosion fell from 4.0 tons per acre per year in 1982 to 2.8 tons per acre per year in 1997. The average rate of wind erosion on the same land base fell from 3.3 tons per acre per year in 1982 to 2.2 tons per acre per year in 1997. The combined wind and water erosion reduction translates to a savings of more than 1.2 billion tons of soil per year on cropland (fig. 2).
Tables 12 and 13 present acres of cropland (cultivated and noncultivated), pastureland, and CRP land with erosion rates greater than T, the soil loss tolerance or rate at which soil productivity is maintained.
Table 14 shows acreage according to six classes of erodibility index scores. The erodibility index (EI) provides a numerical expression of the potential for a soil to erode, considering the physical and chemical properties of the soil and climatic conditions where it is located. The higher the index, the greater the investment needed to maintain the sustainability of the soil resource base if intensively cropped. EI scores above 8 are equated to highly erodible land.
Table 15 presents statistical information dealing with wildlife habitat composition and configuration. Median diameter of habitat patch size is an indicator of habitat diversity. For the 1997 NRI, general cover data were collected along X-shaped transects (the length of each diagonal line of the transect was 1,000 feet). Patches of cover were classified to one of nine general cover types (see Appendix 3, glossary). Entries in Table 15 denoted as "> 1,000" indicate that at least 50% of the transects were classified as having a 1,000 foot length of the same cover type.
Tables 16, 17, 18, and 19 present estimates of status and changes in wetland and deepwater habitat acreage; classification of these systems is according to the Cowardin et al. (1979) classification system. Table 16 shows an estimate of 111.2 million acres of Palustrine and Estuarine wetlands on water areas and nonfederal land for 1997, as well as an additional 47.8 million acres of other aquatic habitats. Table 17 presents the distribution of Palustrine and Estuarine wetlands by land cover/use; most (59%) of these acres are on forest land. Table 18 shows 506.0 thousand acres of Palustrine and Estuarine wetlands were converted to uplands between 1992 and 1997, and 343.2 acres of uplands were converted to Palustrine and Estuarine wetlands during this time period (fig. 3). These conversion estimates show an average annual gross loss of 101.2 thousand acres, an average annual gross gain of 68.6 thousand acres, and an average annual net loss of 32.6 thousand acres per year. These figures do not take into account any losses or gains occurring on federal land. Table 19 presents more particulars regarding the losses and gains. Development accounts for 49% of the losses; agriculture accounts for 26 % of the losses (fig. 4). Natural variations in climatic cycles and hydrology are responsible for the majority of wetland losses captured in the "miscellaneous causes" category. Estimates dealing with losses and gains are presented nationally and by region, but not by state; almost all state numbers are smaller (in absolute value) than their margins of error and, therefore, not significantly different (statistically) than zero. Estimated margins of error (or 95% confidence intervals) are presented in table 19 to assist the reader in determining which regional estimates are statistically significant. Margins or error and statistical reliability are discussed in Appendix 1.
To convert acres to hectares, multiply the number of acres by 0.405.
To convert tons to metric tons, multiply the number of tons by 0.907.
To convert tons/acre to metric tons/hectare, multiply the number of tons/acre by 2.24.
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Jhonata Diniz steps in to fight Daniel Ghita, 2 more fights added to DREAM 18/GLORY 4
- Written by Rian Scalia
The DREAM 18/GLORY 4 card on December 31 at the Saitama Super Arena is just about two weeks away, and some new match-ups were announced, along with a change to one of the Grand Slam match-ups.
First off, Jhonata Diniz will be replacing Fabiano Cyclone against Daniel Ghita in the Grand Slam tournament. It's been rumored for a while now that Cyclone was out, and now it's finally been confirmed via the press conference that was just held in Japan. Diniz fought at GLORY 2 Brussels, where he defeated Sebastian van Thielen by decision. Like Cyclone, he's also Brazillian but trains at Golden Glory in the Netherlands and is very young.
Two new match-ups were also added to the card on the GLORY kickboxing side of things. At 85kg, Toshio Matsumoto will fight Jason Wilnis. Wilnis is 22 years old and fighting out of Holland, where he's fought on It's Showtime a few times, most recently defeating Alex Sandro Pereira by TKO at It's Showtime Brazil on November 10. Matsumoto lately has been fighting at 95kg, but will come down to 85kg for the fight. Matsumoto actually used to be a 70kg fighter around ten years ago, when he was fighting the likes of Kaoklai Kaennorsing at Rajadamnern Stadium and Duane Ludwig in K-1.
The other fight takes place at 53kg, with Mutsuki Ebata fighting Sang-Jae Kim.

subset: commoncrawl


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Whether you're in search of an item you didn't buy on your recent visit or just happen to be a collector of penguins . . . or turtles. . . . or river otters . . .or seahorses, we hope you enjoy browsing in our on-line store. We add new merchandise frequently. If you don't find it here, thousands of other items are available in our stores. E-mail our store manager, Laura, at email@example.com or call her at (423) 785-4039 for assistance.
Copyright © 2009 Tennessee Aquarium. All Rights Reserved.


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The Minnesota Thunder Academy provides development programming for all interested players ages 4 to 19 while also focusing on the development of the elite players and their quest to play at the highest level possible.
We believe that through our youth programming we will identify and filter out the very best of Minnesota's best and help them fulfill their dream of top level soccer competition. We will also help develop thousands of players along the way.
US Soccer Development Academy
US Soccer's new elite development program, the US Soccer Development Academy features some of the most challenging national competition for the U16 and U18 boys age groups.
Elite Clubs National League
The ECNL is a national youth soccer league founded in 2009 for U-15, U-16, U-17 and U-18 girls' teams (U18 teams added in 2010) for the purpose of providing the highest level of competition and the best developmental environment for American female youth soccer players, as well as an identification and development program, which will seek to include players in US Soccer's National Teams.
These programs target the development of the U8 to U19 competitive players through our Regional Academies (North, South, East, West).


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Web Stories
International broadcasting is topic of talk, Sept. 30
Posted September 23, 2004; 06:19 p.m.
"U.S. International Broadcasting: Meeting Tomorrow's Public Diplomacy Challenges" is the title of a talk to be presented at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, in 16 Robertson Hall.
Speaking will be Kenneth Tomlinson, a veteran journalist who chairs the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent federal agency that supervises all U.S. government-supported nonmilitary international broadcasting.
These services include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Middle Television Network (Alhurra and Radio Sawa), Radio Free Asia and the Office of Cuban Broadcasting (Radio and TV Martí). They broadcast in 55 languages to more than 100 million people around the world. Nine members sit on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a presidentially appointed body.
The lecture is sponsored by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs .
Contact: Tom Bartus (609) 258-3601


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Haven't applied, didn't know it was recruiting yet.
Stuff that's not mine, but I help out with:
The Blackwoods
Rogue: Clandestine Operations
Gnorman's E6 Compendium
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Universal Fit
Ironbuds from Acoustic Forge - under $50 ecobuds
" I am tired of: throwing away earphones, wasting money, and destroying the environment. Ironbuds promised to be an answer to all three - imho they've cracked it. What is surprising is how good they sound. Been waiting a year for Acoustic Forge to release these. I posted in the forums about 8 months ago about them - but Thomas (the CEO) announced they were having some difficulties..." --intelegant
Sentry Ho228 In-Ear Stereo Headphones
This digital stereo headset comes pack with a storage case , no more cables around just storage them after you use them. 3.5mm jack allows you to use this headset with a wide range of portable electronics.


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Printable View
Your ESPN Live Draft is scheduled for 7:45 PM ET on September 3. You will be able to access the Live Draft system one hour prior to your scheduled draft time. Links to launch the Live Draft will be available on your League and Team pages. Draft test links can be found on your League page any time prior to your draft, or you can click here to test now.
League Name: POTUS '12
Remember that practice can only help, so access ESPN's free Mock Drafts, Pre-Draft Player Rankings and Expert Advice and Analysis.
Good luck, and may the best owner win.
It's 7:40 and I have been trying for ten minutes to enter the draft, which apparently already started? WTF??>?


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VIDEO: The trailer for The Devil Came on Horseback
Have you been remiss in taking a stand on the killing war in Darfur because the situation there seems too complex to understand? Arriving this Friday at the Coolidge Corner Theatre's Screening Room, THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK aims to sort things out for you. Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg argue that the civil war in western Sudan is easy to grasp: there's a good side and a very evil one. The decent folks are Darfur's black Africans. Also good guys are two rebel forces, the SLA (the Sudanese Liberation Army) and the Justice and Equality Movement.
The bad guys? The Arabic central government in Khartoum, which is behind the racist genocide of black Africans residing in Darfur. And "genocide" is the appropriate word for the systematic rape, torture, and killing of between 200,000 and 400,000 Darfuri villagers. The actual evildoers are Islamic militia, who roam freely through the province, with rifles and trucks supplied by the government. They also gallop about the desert on fancy steeds. They are the notorious "Janjaweed," the "devils on horseback."
The filmmakers utilize a simple but effective plan to make the information above meaningful, and palatable. It's filtered through the first-hand experience of an American witness to the Sudanese war. Our Man in Darfur, the documentary's protagonist, is a regular joe, crewcut Brian Steidle, who, after his time was up in the Marines, applied for overseas employment. "Patrol leader, Sudan" was the cryptic Internet job description. The documentary takes you to the to the one-room hut in the Sudanese wilderness where Steidle set up camp. His further job description: "Monitor the ceasefire." Soon after, in 2004, he found himself moving about Darfur from village to village under siege from the Janjaweed. Amid the burned-down homes and the dead bodies, he bravely took photographs.
The second part of The Devil Came on Horseback tells us what happened when Steidle returned home. He was certain that when other Americans saw his photographs, we'd liberate Darfur. He met with congressmen, he met with Condoleezza Rice. Everyone was concerned; nothing was done. His pessimistic conclusion: "I knew bad things happened. I didn't think people would allow these things to happen."
Will we finally help in Darfur? The Devil Came on Horseback ends with a list of organizations for Americans to join. At the top: www.Savedarfur.org.
What's the last time you saw a really good French film? I recommend LA FAUTE À FIDEL|BLAME IT ON FIDEL, which opens this Friday at the Kendall Square, after screening at the MFA last month as part of the Boston French Film Festival. Directed by Julie Gavras (Costa-Gavras's daughter), and set in the early 1970s, it's a family drama about affluent parents who suddenly go radical, and about how their political conversion affects their children, especially their nine-year-old daughter, Anna (a wonderful Nina Kervel-Bey). She's been happy as a petite bourgeoise, attending Catholic school and visiting with her De Gaullist patrician grandparents. The more her parents embrace progressive causes like supporting Salvador Allende's election in Chile, the more estranged Anna becomes, and the more entrenched as a right-wing, anti-Communist kid.
Except for dragging her to a demonstration, Anna's parents are remarkably free with their reactionary-thinking progeny, allowing her to believe whatever she wishes. Ditto this open-minded film, which trusts the audience to pick among the various ideologies warring among its characters. The late Allende would have approved: La faute Fidel is a movie of the true democratic left.
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Beautiful Inn on the ocean, an older Merchants home, ocean front property with kayak rentals, + floating dock, fishing and hiking. Islands galore, 365 of them to explore!
In addition to 47 standard rooms, some with kitchenettes, the Hotel also has an Executive Suite and two Junior Suites available, all completely smoke free and pet free, with 24-7 front desk service for your convenience.
We are a family owned and operated Outfitting Business.Our camps has been in operation for over 30 years and is located in the heart of Newfoundlands rugged interior.We offer 1on1 guided hunts for Moose Caribou and Bear.
Adventure and eco tours to Atlantic Canada and northern Canada Specializing in small custom tours. Also providing regular scheduled tours in season.We also arrange fishing and snowmobiling. Our tours are not difficult and are suitable for almost anyo
High quality learning vacations centered on themes from Newfoundland's natural and cultural history. These all inclusive vacations bring you to the heart of outport Newfoundland . Music, stories, traditional skills--Come learn what locals know.
Unique coffee house overlooking the ocean. Homemade baked goods. Clean accomodations. Shower service and hiking lunches can be provided. Internet, library, catering and homemade treats galore. Located minutes from the East Coast Trail.
cabin rental on 2 acres of land located at the entrance to Gros Morne national park,very knowledgeable on the area and very hospitible.
Seven days of big rides and hikes on the Viking Trail, with a fjord cruise, all the highlights of Gros Morne National Park, an iceberg and whale watching tour, and a visit to L'Anse aux Meadows Viking settlement.
Newfoundland visitors guide to accommodations, adventure travel, unique tours and rentals. Check out top Newfoundland getaways & destinations. Newfoundland vacations, packages & travel spots. Visit Newfoundland !.


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Widing ME10EX
With WIDING ME-10EX inner-ear earphones you can enjoy the most beautiful music,it can bring you different feeling.If the headphone output on your existing gear just isn't loud and clear enough, or you need multiple headphone outputs with independent level controls,then you can choose this product to help you.It gives you more than just volume. It's designed to deliver clean, clear,...
Ironbuds from Acoustic Forge - under $50 ecobuds
" I am tired of: throwing away earphones, wasting money, and destroying the environment. Ironbuds promised to be an answer to all three - imho they've cracked it. What is surprising is how good they sound. Been waiting a year for Acoustic Forge to release these. I posted in the forums about 8 months ago about them - but Thomas (the CEO) announced they were having some difficulties..." --intelegant


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Abstract: In this series of posts I will looking first at semiotics (semiology) beginning with a definition and critical examination of semiotics, which I will use as a starting point for re-viewing several artist's work or thoughts (writing, statements and interviews).
What is semiotics?
Semiotics is a difficult concept to define because the easiest definition fails as it spirals into semantics. Defined as "a study of signs" the immediate question becomes: "What is a sign?" In the case of semiotics a sign can include text (language), images (paintings, photographs, street signs) and body language. The purpose of examining these sign systems as described by a founder of the study Ferdinand de Saussure is to develop a science.
"A science which studies the role of signs as part of social life. It would form part of social psychology, and hence of general psychology. We shall call it semiology (from the Greek semeîon, 'sign'). It would investigate the nature of signs and the laws governing them. Since it does not yet exist, one cannot say for certain that it will exist. But it has a right to exist, a place ready for it in advance. Linguistics is only one branch of this general science. The laws which semiology will discover will be laws applicable in linguistics, and linguistics will thus be assigned to a clearly defined place in the field of human knowledge."
Saussure's view that semiotics is a "science" is one method for understanding this study of signs. For another major semiotician, Charles Pierce, semiotics was a "formal doctrine of signs" and a sign is "something which stands for somebody for something in some respect or capacity...every thought is a sign".
Semiotics can be further defined in relation to "structuralism". Saussure along with Claude Levi-Strauss and Jacques Lacan are among those related to methods of structuralism.
"Structuralism is an analytical method which has been employed by many semioticians...Structuralists seek to describe the overall organization of sign systems as 'languages' --as with Levi-Strauss and myth, kinship rules and totemism, Lacan and the unconscious and Barthes and Greimas and the 'grammar' or narrative. They engage in a search for 'deep structures' underlying the 'surfaces' of phenomena. However, contemporary social semiotics has moved beyond the structuralist concern with the internal relations of parts within a self-contained system, seeking to explore the use of signs in specific social situations. Modern semiotic theory is also sometimes allied with a Marxist approach which stresses the role of ideology."
Roland Barthes in the late 60s described the aim or semiotics as
"to take in any system of signs, whatever their substance and limits; images, gestures, musical sounds, objects, and the complex associations of all of these, which form the content of ritual, convention or public entertainment: these constitute, if not languages, at least systems of signification."
Another scholar Umberto Eco states, "Semiotics is concerned with everything that can be taken as a sign". Or, in other words, semiotics is concerned with anything, which 'stands' for something 'else'. Contemporary semioticians study signs not in isolation but as part of semiotic sign systems. Paying particular attention to studying how meanings are made. Contemporary semioticians are "concerned not only with communication but also with the construction and maintenance of reality."
Obviously, there is a lot discrepancy between the many definitions of semiotics and the analytical approaches taken. For my purposes here I will try to contain the discussion to the most essential ideas and issues, as I understand them. I think it will be possible to see many of the issues raised by semiotics in action by looking at several artist's writing or thoughts from their statements. Most of my information on semiotics is from Semiotics for Beginners by Daniel Chandler. I will leave the citations and heavy research lifting to him and the wikipedia. I will also include a bibliography at the end of this post.
A Brief Look at Semiotics
Chandler begins with much of the information I have represented above and gets into the nuts and bolts of semiotics with his description of "signs". As already mentioned signs can be "words, images, sounds, odors, flavors, acts, or objects...but such things have no intrinsic meaning and become signs only when we invest them with meaning." According to Charles Pierce (representative of one form of semiotics) "Nothing is a sign unless it is interpreted as a sign" not unlike a Duchampian understanding of art making. Signs are the starting point of semiotics and Charles Sanders Pierce and Ferdinand de Saussure are seen by Sanders as representative of the two most dominant forms of semiotics.
Saussure's understanding of signs is based on a two-part model of signifier, the form, which the sign takes, and the signified, the concept it represents. A sign must have both parts to function. For Saussure neither concept need exist in a material form and a sign is read as frozen in time. Chandler uses the words of Susanne Langer to round out this idea. "In talking about things we have the conceptions of them, not the things themselves...signs directly mean the conceptions of things". In this way signs are immaterial concepts. Signs are also defined as "arbitrary" because they have no intrinsic value. Sanders explains that there is nothing "tree like" about the word tree. Saussure also argues that signs only make sense as part of a formal, generalized, and abstract system. For Saussure language and linguistics is a branch of his science of signs and "within the language system everything depends on relations, mostly of one sign to another...both signifier and signified are purely relational entities." Chandler further complicates this by adding that for Saussure the relation of signs is always negative and oppositional. What characterizes each sign most exactly is being whatever the others are not.
Charles Pierces' understanding of semiotics argues that signs differ in how "arbitrary/conventional or by contrast transparent" signs are. Pierce argues that signs are never fully arbitrary and can thus be "classified". He theorized that 59,049 types of signs exist. Despite this number Pierce helpfully suggests three major modes of signs: Symbols, Icons, and Indexes. These categories function as typologies and refer to how signs refer to their signified. The relationships are "the icon by a quality of its own, the index by real connection to its object, and the symbol by a habit or rule for its interpretant" (3). Semiotics seems plagued by word play, Chandler is constantly aware that word choice is incredibly important in trying to define these differences, but difference as mentioned before is how all signs are defined.
Why Semiotics!?
After spending a week reading Chandler's Semiotics for Beginners I realize that I can't hope to cover the entire scope of the topic. I hope I have provided enough to at least facilitate a basic understanding of semiotics but before I dive into looking at some art work I want to re-present some of the positive and negatives of using a semiotic approach.
Anti/Pro Semiotics
Chandler suggests many positive reasons for pursing a semiotic approach but he is careful to also layout the pitfalls of the approach. As a starting point language (signs) define reality. Chandler claims that because of this it is possible to use semiotics as a "potentially unifying conceptual framework and a set of methods and terms for use across the full range of signifying practices, which include gesture, posture, dress, writing, speech, photography, film, television and radio". Further, using either a structuralist or social semiotic approach can clarify meaning by look at underlying structures and conventions or by exposing how different meaning can be drawn out for different readers. Almost by default this means that semiotics can cause us to examine meaning and context that might otherwise be taken for granted as simply convention or tradition. This quality of semiotics is seen as "denaturalizing" conventions and not allowing for passive interpretation. We are constantly reminded that signs and their meaning is constantly mediated.
"For Roland Barthes various codes contribute to reproducing bourgeois ideology, making it seem natural, proper and inevitable. One need not be a Marxist to appreciate that it can be liberating to become aware of whose view of reality is being privileged in the process. Many semioticians see their primary task as being to denaturalize signs, texts and codes. Semiotics can thus show ideology at work and demonstrate that 'reality' can be challenged."
Beyond examining how meanings are created semiotics allows for multiple interpretations. Further, semiotics explains that meaning must be sought, or worked for. Using advertisements as an example Chandler explains:
"Signs do not just 'convey' meanings, but constitute a medium in which meanings are constructed. Semiotics helps us to realise that meaning is not passively absorbed but arises only in the active process of interpretation. In relation to printed advertisements, William Leiss and his colleagues note:
'The semiological approach... suggests that the meaning of an ad does not float on the surface just waiting to be internalized by the viewer, but is built up out of the ways that different signs are organized and related to each other, both within the ad and through external references to wider belief systems. More specifically, for advertising to create meaning, the reader or the viewer has to do some 'work'. Because the meaning is not lying there on the page, one has to make an effort to grasp it.'"
Of course Chandler is careful to expose the weaknesses of the semiotic approach. Some of the strengths of semiotics function as double edged swords. The structuralist approach for example is critiqued for ignoring the social context of meaning and interpretation.
"We must consider not only how signs signify (structurally) but also why (socially); structures are not causes. The relationships between signifiers and their signifieds may be ontologically arbitrary but they are not socially arbitrary. We should beware of allowing the notion of the sign as arbitrary to foster the myth of the neutrality of the medium."
Social semiotics has largely accommodated this critique, however. The first Chandler provides is one which I have also exposed above. Semiotics lacks broad consistency in "scope and methodology". Semiotics is also vulnerable because of reliance on individual interpretation. As Chandler puts it:
"At worst, what passes for 'semiotic analysis' is little more than a pretentious form of literary criticism applied beyond the bounds of literature and based merely on subjective interpretation and grand assertions. This kind of abuse has earned semiotics an unenviable reputation in some quarters as the last refuge for academic charlatans."
Chandler compounds this by stressing that because of a tendency to over rely on an individual analyst semiotics can fail to provide evidence or provide only heavily biased evidence.
"Certainly, in some cases, semiotic analysis seems little more than an excuse for interpreters to display the appearance of mastery through the use of jargon which excludes most people from participation. In practice, semiotic analysis invariably consists of individual readings."
There are many other criticisms of semiotics but these feel the most important to me.
The Semiotic Approach in Action
I will use Chandler's DIY tips found here for this, and I will post the results of the process next.
Wikipedia Pages
1. Semiotic elements and classes of signs (Peirce)
2. Semiotics
3. Semiotic Elements and Classes of SIgns
4. Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art, A Sourcebook of Artist's Writings
5. Art in Theory 1900-2000, Charles Harrison and Paul Wood.
6. Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art After 1980, Chapter on Language in Art.
Never underestimate the creative powers of a 15-16 year old... Despite this third year class failing this test (only 6 of 33 passed) there were at least that many good drawings on the test itself, a success.
Without permission here are the best of the lot (in my opinion). All drawings on Letter size, white paper, no gloss, in pencil or ink. Dimensions variable, all cropping done by me.
|3a2 Art
These days as most of you know getting accepted into the school of your dreams is only half the battle. Upon acceptance you must somehow find the cash money to actually pay for what you want: a nightmare. This post is for those of you who are like me, only semi-talented, the diet coke of talented, not quite talented enough to get a "merit" scholarship.
For your money searching pleasure a list of websites where you may or may not find your money.
Hotel Rwanda, Last King of Scotland, Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers, The Good German, The Devil Wears Prada...
coming soon: Art School Confidential, The Departed.
These are my thoughts on these movies, not really reviews in the true sense, since I do not go over who is in these movies and who directs, when they were made and released etc..
Miami Vice
Michael Mann? Is it really you? You have fallen so far. Miami Vice is Michael Mann stopping at the corner liquor store and having a quickie. Despite some gloriously gratuitous gore (blood spray) the film lacks any real appeal. It never really engages. IF you are looking for lots of action separated by lots of boring, then this is the movie for you. It is no Heat, It is not Collateral. It is lame.
Two thumbs down. There is a one thumb rating deduction because I had to pay to see this.
Hi, we are still trying to fine tune our new layout, but this is pretty much it. What do you think?
This is mostly a test to see if I figured out how to upload pictures right. But for those of you familiar with Calvin's downtown gallery space, it is looking for a name to call itself. Benner's suggestion for a name got further than anyone else's that I know of. Mine (gallery infinate love) didn't even make it past the first round. Anyways, they are still looking for an appropriate name...any one got any suggestions?
Yes, I must have a go at commenting on the world cup (not the stanley cup).
Yesterday, the Americans (ranked fifth in the world? i think i heard by a company owned by coke) tried very very hard to win, but fell short after an "infantile" second foul by Pope sent him to the sidelines, and put the Americans at a 9 -10 man disadvantage. I like their gutsy play, but I have heard some nonsense about a bias ref? That is ridiculous.
Today, in another great and inspiring match up, the Koreans vs. the French. The Koreans looked little next to the taller and stronger Frenchmen but came away with one point after an entire game of non stop pressure and amazing displays of skill.
I was satisfied that the favourites did not win. In fact I almost always satisfied when the weaker teams win. I miss the days when I could live futbol. American TV just doesnt do the game justice with the commentators lack of emmotion and ridiculous if not wrong judgements of the game. For a taste of the eximent of what futbol really is about tune in to UNIVISION. Even if you don't understand what they are saying you will understand what they are feeling. Passion.


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It's that time of the week when we use one of the wonderful freebies our lovely designers create for us.
There have been so many fantastic freebies this week, that I had a hard time choosing which freebie to use this week. So I decided you have a choice.
You can either use Elisha's wonderful Silent Night Paper Special,
Or you can use Cindy's Old Fashioned Christmas Embellishment Special,
Of course you could use both.
Post your layouts in the General Message Board Challenges gallery and post a link back here, so we can all LSL on your layout.
Tuesday Freebie Challenge 18Th Dec
Started by ValerieT, Dec 18 2012 03:40 AM
3 replies to this topic
Posted 18 December 2012 - 03:40 AM
Posted 18 December 2012 - 03:47 AM
Here's mine, I used both freebies.
Posted 18 December 2012 - 02:32 PM
Here's mine. I chose the paper, but added a bunch of other Christmas freebies as well. Thanks for a fun challenge!
Posted 21 December 2012 - 08:11 PM
My niece performed in the Parable of the 10 Virgins - I never had my good camera there and I was FAR in the back - but got a few shots of her. Back in December 2010.
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A Stelton state of mind: To believe in surprising innovative clearly functional and high quality Scandinavian design. Stelton is a brand that tickles the design gene; an adventure in stainless steel.
Stelton was founded in Denmark, 1960 with humble beginnings selling steel hollowware. When administrative director Peter Holmblad established a cooperation with the leading Danish architect and designer Arne Jacobsen in 1964 they saught to create a true line of tableware where correlation of design between the individual items would always ensure harmonious table settings. The result was the now famous Cylinda-Line which was launched in 1967 and immediately attracted considerable attention for its serene and functionalist design. The company rapidly grew in Denmark and worldwide due to the success of Cylinda-Line.
Today, Stelton offers five different design-lines with products from more than 20 top-designers and thereby represents once again one of the most innovative and front-running companies of its kind. Stelton has been awarded the "ID-prize" by the Danish Design Council four times and a number of Stelton products are exhibited in a.o.The Museum of Modern Art and The Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Victoria & Albert Museum and British Museum, London; Staatliches Museum für angewandte Kunst, Munich and Kunstindustrimuseet, Copenhagen; Louvre and Pompidou, Paris. On top of this, Stelton receives each year some of the world's most important international design prizes such as iF product design award, Red Dot, and FORM.
Stelton represents a special view of the world - we call it "a Stelton state of mind": to believe in surprising, innovative, clearly functional and high quality Scandinavian design. Stelton - awarded "Denmark's Coolest Brand 2005", "Superbrand 2006" and "Danish Design Prize 2007".
Klaus Rath was born in 1964 and was educated as an industrial designer from the School of Architecture in Arhus, Denmark.
Among his clients have been companies such as GN Netcome, GN Mobile, Modulex and the Danish Social Ministery, working on both, product and graphic design.
Klaus Rath has been recognized with the IF Design award 2001, 2002 and 2005, the G-Mark Design award 2003 as well as the CES Design award 2006.View other products by Klaus Rath


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Family: Phocoenidae, Porpoises view all from this family
Description Unique blunt-faced porpoise boldly patterned with black and white. Fluke and dorsal fin also colored with black and white. Male is slightly larger and has a hump behind dorsal fin. Female has a black trident pattern in genital area.
Dimensions 1.8-2.3m, 84-114kg
Habitat Offshore waters
Range California, Northwest, Western Canada, Alaska
Discussion Active and unpredictable swimmer, frequently creates rooster tail splashes. Common in the Pacific.


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Mom's House
Cute, Furry, Fuzzy
Some of the characteristics which define mammals as a phylogenetic class are hair or fur and the production of milk to nourish their young. Mammals are well known to us, because not only are Homo sapiens mammals but most of the large charismatic animals we are familiar with are mammals. Think of your favorite animal, for most of you it probably has hair or fur and it's probably a mammal. But as some of you may know, there is more than one type of mammal. Marsupial mammals care for their young in pouches utilizing a very different life history strategy than the placental mammals with which we are so familiar. Marsupial mammals are distributed worldwide but are particularly concentrated on one continent, Australia. Watch this video to find out some about the behavior and status of marsupials in Australia.
So that's the current state of marsupials in Australia, but how did Australia wind up with so many unique species? Watch this video to find out how scientists think marsupial mammals arrived in Australia.
Explore More
Use the resources below to answer the following questions:
- How aware is the general Australian public of the diversity of marsupial mammals in Australia? How do you think this compares to the awareness in other countries? Can you think of a similar situation in the country where you live?
- Review the characteristics of mammals. Looking at them is it clear that marsupials are mammals? Does having a pouch cause any difference in their body form you can see as compared to a placental mammal? Observe closely.
- What behavior of most surviving marsupials make them harder for people to see? What are some possible adaptive advantageous of this strategy?
- How does the ability of marsupial mammals to produce milk differ from placental mammals ability to produce milk? How is this linked to the life history of marsupials? Can you think of environmental conditions where this would give marsupial mammals and advantage over placental mammals? (Hint: consider how gestation time affects an animal in answering this question.)
- Where has the oldest marsupial fossil been found? How old is it? What conditions lead to Australia having so many marsupial mammals compared to the rest of the world?
Resources Cited
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRBOj53MSos
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yA7MdgxLy8I
- http://www.australianwildlife.com.au/marsupials.htm
- http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/marsupial/marsupial.html
- http://www.ferris.edu/card/kids_corner/marsupials.htm (note:recent fossil finds have changed the location of the earliest known marsupial)
- http://www.nhc.ed.ac.uk/index.php?page=493.168
- http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/04/0423_020425_firstmammal.html


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Nicki Minaj freaked out, Rick Ross redeemed himself, and Jay-Z made a baby.
Hip-hop in 2012 was defined by a series of ups and downs, but for the most part it was pretty… weird. For one, what the hell is the definition of hip-hop these days anyway? Is it singing, is it rapping, is it that sing-songy rap shit that Drake does when he's crying on his bed with a velvet comforter? Who really knows? Gone are the days of sticking to the four elements as an indicator of what's hip-hop, and 2012 is proof of that. So, here are a few moments in hip-hop from 2012 to remind you that your life isn't nearly as interesting as that of a sing-songy rapper.
Cool Moment in Hip-Hop: The Rise of Black Hippy
Kendrick Lamar, ScHoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and Jay Rock. While this quartet of badassness revealed that there probably wouldn't be a Black Hippy album (despite being collectively signed to Top Dawg Entertainment), individually Black Hippy ran the Rap game. ScHoolboy Q dropped Habits & Contradictions in January and fucked our heads up by sampling guitar-toting Lissie's cover of Kid Cudi's "Pursuit of Happiness" on his cut "Hands on the Wheel" with A$AP Rocky. Then In May, Ab-Soul did his crew proud with #controlsystem, where the family showed up on the "Black Lip Bastard" remix. Finally, after Section.80 made us cry real tears in 2011, Kendrick Lamar dropped good kid, m.A.A.d. city, in October, proving that we really don't need Dr. Dre's Detox after all.
Weird Moment in Hip-Hop: The Tupac Hologram
This is what happens when you invite rappers to headline Coachella: They start resurrecting legends. So Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg reached a part of Cali they probably never frequent for the Coachella Music Festival in April, and they brought 'Pac with them. He emerged on stage to perform "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" with Snoop followed by a riveting rendition of "Hail Mary." This was just strange. The "Tupac's Alive" yahoos returned to say it really was Pac up there, and then T-Boz and Chilli were like, "Hey let's get a Left Eye hologram and get that TLC tour going." This can't be a thing that shows up in 2013. Let's kill the holograms, please.
Cool Moment in Hip-Hop: A$AP Rocky Proves He's Still Awesome
In 2011, A$AP Rocky offered up LiveLoveA$AP to the weird rap gods, and they named him one of their leaders. He brought A$AP Mob with him, but 2012 was more about A$AP's awesomeness and less about the music. We were teased for months that LongLiveA$AP would arrive before Halloween, and that never happened. A$AP played bizarro JFK in Lana Del Rey's video for "Ridin'" which was cool, but then he goes and takes over again with "Fuckin Problem." The 40-produced song had 2 Chainz, Drake, and Kendrick Lamar, muddling over nymphomania and bringing enough girls back to the crib. It was another high point for A$AP Rocky, but it only made us ask, "OK, where the hell is your album though?" That Lords Never Worry mixtape was not enough.
Weird Moment in Hip-Hop: We Lost Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys
Why is this a weird moment? Because we always assumed certain architects of hip-hop would live forever. When hip-hop lost Yauch in May, it was a shock, despite knowing about his battle with cancer. In 2009, cancer was found in his parotid gland that spread to a nearby lymph node. While it caused the Beasties' Hot Sauce Committee to never release, 2011 saw Hot Sauce Committee Part Two, and that was the last project from the Beastie Boys. This year, Yauch was too ill to attend the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame awards, before passing weeks later. A part of hip-hop died on May 4, when Adam Yauch passed away at the age of 47. Fuck cancer.
Cool Moment in Hip-Hop: G.O.O.D Music Is Actually a Thing
Kanye West has been talking about G.O.O.D. Music since, like, 1967. So many different artists were rumored to be a part of G.O.O.D. Music over time, that it became hip-hop's Menudo. Well in September, the collective album Cruel Summer dropped, and with it came songs like "Mercy" New God Flow" "Theraflu" aka "Cold" and "Clique". This album did a few things for hip-hop. For one, it re-instilled our love of 2 Chainz. While Chainz was bopping around as Tity Boi and getting everyone's attention, and his album Based On a T.R.U. Story made a presence in August, his affiliation to G.O.O.D. and his presence on "Mercy" really drove the point home. Oh yeah, and "Theraflu" kicked off that beautiful union between Kanye and Kim Kardashian known as "KimYe". Tell PETA my mink is draggin' on the floor.
Weird Moment in Hip-Hop: Rihanna
So much to say about this broad. First, after her make-ups to break-ups with Chris Brown, she turns to Drake, and then turns to Meek Mill. The result was some convoluted Twitter beef that ended in W.i.P. in Soho where a fight broke out and we're all still having to hear about it. Rihanna goes on Oprah and cries, and then she charters an aeroplane with 150-plus members of the media in November, starves them and deprives them of sleep, only to land the plane seven days later and claim she'd do it all over again. Musically, everything was fine, since everyone and their mother is singing the Sia-penned "Diamonds" at this point. Her album Unapologetic (which arrived in November) will probably win an award or something, but only after Rihanna takes home the Hottest Mess in Music Award of 2012.
Cool Moment in Hip-Hop: Frank Ocean Comes Out and We're All Tuned into Channel Orange
Frank Ocean, the sometimes rapping/always singing member of Odd Future, made the boldest announcement in recent music history on the Fourth of July when he posted a letter on his Tumblr page saying that he'd had a relationship with a man. Whether that means he's gay or bisexual is still very much up for debate (along with his friendship with Willy Cartier), but either way he shocked hip-hop to the fucking core. The homophobic undertones in the industry have been present for three decades plus, but Frank said to hell with all that and walked out of the closet. A week later he dropped Channel Orange, debuting at Number two on Billboard, with songs that reveal relationships with both men and women. Take that, homophobes!
Weird Moment in Hip-Hop: Ratchet Arrives and LL Cool J Cosigns It
Ugh. Why, though? So the whole "Ratchet Movement" in Rap is not new, really. Back in 2007, Hurricane Chris dropped an album called 51/50 Ratchet and he whole-heartedly believed he would be the Godfather of Ratchet with his hit single "A Bay Bay." Yeah, no. That never happened. This year, though, "ratchet" became the hip-hop slang of choice, meaning anything from going to a party and triple-fisting, to getting into a fight and pulling some woman's wig off. It carried into music, where artists like Future, Tyga, and to a lesser extent 2 Chainz categorically dropped some "ratchet" tunes (Rack City, bitch). Shit got really weird in October, when LL Cool J released the song "Ratchet". You know how you'll love a song and then you hear your dad singing it, and suddenly it's not so cool anymore? Well, that's exactly what happened with Ratchet. Thanks a lot, Uncle L.
Cool Moment in Hip-Hop: We Forgive Rick Ross Thanks To Meek Mill
Rick Ross' history with law enforcement became the elephant in the room that was larger than the bearded nipple-slipping bawse. It was the forgivable unforgivable thing that echoed throughout Rick Ross' many projects. Then Meek Mill happened. While 2011's Dreamchasers warmed us up; this year's Dreamchasers 2, and the October release of Meek's debut album Dreams & Nightmares, meant suddenly everyone was totally thankful Rick Ross gave him to us. It was a feeling similar to Eminem bringing Slaughterhouse to the forefront (August's release of Welcome To: Our House was another high point in Rap this year). However, Ross cosigning Meek allowed us to digest July's God Forgives, I Don't and June's Self-Made Vol. 2 by Maybach Music Group. Congratulations, Rick Ross. Your penance has been served.
Weird Moment in Hip-Hop: Nicki Minaj Scares Everyone
It used to be awesome how scary Nicki Minaj was, so when she dropped Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in April, we all knew hip-hop had lost her forever. She felt it too, especially when Hot 97's Peter Rosenberg dissed her on stage at June's Summer Jam, causing Lil Wayne to make Nicki cancel her set that night. Then Nicki hops on American Idol and screams at everyone's favorite psycho Mariah Carey (the televised feud should be epic), yells some more on her E! show My Truth, and drops Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded – The Re-Up in November, where she tries rapping again. Finally, now that she's rapping again, she goes and tells Hot97 to never play her music ever again. What the hell is going on, Nicki? Stop being so scary, I love it!
Cool Moment in Hip-Hop: Jay-Z and Beyonce Drop the Collaborative Project Called "Blue Ivy"
Let's end on a high note, here. On January 7th, hip-hop's First Baby was born. Blue Ivy Carter arrived, and so did Jay's new song "Glory" (he's a business, man!). While Nas' dedication to his daughter on July's release of Life Is Good was poignant, we never get to see a vulnerable Shawn Carter. We haven't really seen many photos of this beautiful child, knowing she exists is enough for right now. We look forward to 2013, where B.I.C. will probably release her first mixtape, debut album, line of trainers, and brand of non-alcoholic champagne. She's making us proud already.
Follow Kathy on Twitter: @kath3000
Read more about Hip-Hop:
Pimp Rap Has a New Prince And His Name Is 100S


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|The Quintessential Trout Trout angling is the core of flyfishing worldwide.
|Topic Review (Newest First)
|The swallows and bats are still there. We fished the brown drake hatch well into the night in the first pool above the huge riffle above osborn bridge. Is that millionaire pool? The crazy thing was that the bats would echo locate on the fly line and tap it now and again. It was pretty creepy. There also is a huge flock of seagulls that would appear out of nowhere for the green drake hatch. As soon as the hatch was over they would dissappear. Unfortunately I think your gravel bar is gone.
I'm not sure about the gravel bar but it used to be directly below the dam on the far side.
Nymph fishing is an attempt at futility down on the flats though in the canyon where there is far less food and the river is more like most western rivers it's done often.
Did you notice how hundreds of swallows come from nowhere seconds before a blanket hatch starts? Often have wondered how they know as the swallows are more than a hunded yards away from the river and then they are skiming the water exactly as the first duns wings begin to dry. The bats in the evening caddis hatch are a sight to see too. Hope that there are still many left as they are a great indicator of the health of the watershed.
The A-bar used to be bad burgers, pool games and good clean healthy fist fights, boy was that a nice way to relax after a long day of intense fishing.
|OC, I believe that you are 100% correct in your explanation of the feeding habits of those fish. I think that many of the fish on the ranch flats feed subsurface. As you well know with all the weeds and clear shallow water it is all but impossible to nymph effectively. At least we could not figure out how to do it. That is why we did well subsurface in the huge riffle above osborn bridge, no weeds and faster water enables a closer approach and drag free drift. We scouted your spot one afternoon and fished it another morning from 5 to 7. The closest gravel bar is about 100 yards from the deep water is that the one you told me about. We also fished from the large boulders along the left bank. I lost 10 flies and caught no fish. My friend took one nice fish but no pigs. He started fishing a soft hackle in the riffle and took 2 fish on one drift, pretty cool. We did not meet your pal but did hit the A-Bar. Does that bring back fond memories?
Is it not wonderful to fish for trout under the most difficult situations. For those who have never ventured to the fork it is not about a wild western freestone river where trout are opportunistic. But a wide gentle slow flowing river that is rarely over waist deep with fine gravel channels between the weed beds. Food is abundent and fish are selective because they have so much to eat that they have the resourses to key not only on one size of a certain aquatic insect but on one certain aspect of the hatch. When there is a blanket hatch we are talking about millions and millions of flies coming down river. Even if only 1 out of every 50 PMD's is a cripple then a mature rainbow has more than enough cripples passing by his feeding zone to feed on and substane life. Many of us who lived on the fork and fished in the late 70's and early 80's noticed a drastic change in feeding habits as the popularity of the ranch took place. Fishing duns to fish feeding on duns became less and less an opportunity as fish most likely due to being hooked so often started to change feeding habits. Over the next couple of years it seemed fish fed on emergers mostly. Many of inexperienced fishermaen were frustated and could not understand the difference between a fish rise for a dun and a rise for an emerger or a spinner. Frustation was everywhere but of course the local fly shops would turn the new folks on to emergers and before one knew it fish had moved on to cripples as a food. The difficulty of catching fish on the ranch has increased over the last twenty years and that's great, if you want to test your ability of your observation skill this is the place for the challenge. Here is the greatest place to understand that fly fishings greatest reward is the observation not only of the enviro you are in but how you as a person fits into that situation.
Glad you had a great time Brad let me know what the river was like up where I mentioned in the e-mail.
|Nathan, I love that place. The water was a bit lower this year than last but they said that the snowpack was good this year. They had an unusually cold spring so all of the hatches were delayed. I have heard that sometimes it takes a couple of good days of hatches to get the fish really keyed on a paticular bug. The drought is a huge problem here in CO. Mandatory water restrictions all over the place. Some rivers in the southwest may lose all their fish.
|That is such a great river I fished it two years ago. I wonder if the slow down you saw was dure to the yearawful drought they have had for the last two years? Water got really really low last
|John Desjardins
|Sounds like a great trip Brad.
Henry's Fork
We took a four day trip to Henry's Fork last weekend. The area is absolutly beautiful, lush and green compared to the front range of CO. We did well with soft hackles but did not kill them like we did last year. Got into a prolific PMD hatch that I thought would have brought every fish in the river to the surface but that was not the case, cannot figure that one out. Landed a few risers on a PMD cripple, if you do not have that fly in your box you should tie some. It consistantly fools more fish than any other PMD pattern that I have found. witnessed both the green and brown drake hatches this year. These bug are huge and hatched for only about an hour at a time. The fish got very selective and tough to catch. The fly of the trip was the good old flashback RS2. On sunday hooked about 10-12 fish in the faster water in 3 hours on that fly. Landed 3 over 18, if you read the other thread on fishing fast water I had to chase all of them down stream while applying as much side pressure as possible. Hooked a few more big fish that went airborn and threw the small barbless hook. Another fly that did well was a rusty spinner imitation. Renee Harrop has a great Trusty Rusty Spinner pattern. We seemed to catch alot of fish on unusual small patterns. I think those fish see so many size 14 PMD imitations and drake imitations this time of year that they turn off. By going down to 18 of 20 we were able to take many more fish. Fishing was good catching was slower this year. The fishing report for the Ranch section in one of the fly shops simply said Good Luck!
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And, of course, the fine print:
Get free shipping on your next order when you spend over $100. The discount will be automatically applied to your purchase; no promo code required. The subtotal of your purchase must be $100.01 or greater after any promotional discounts have been applied. Additional fees such as tax or shipping and handling do not apply toward your minimum subtotal requirement of $100.01. Offer applies to standard shipping only. Certain items that require additional shipping and handling are excluded from this promotion and do not apply towards your $100.01 subtotal minimum. Offer subject to change.
Plants kinda look similar when they're starting out, we get that. They're all green. Luckily this porcelain herb tag helps keep your botanical meanderings in order. So when someone asks you how your garden grows, you can answer 'em proudly.
- Includes 1 herb tag
- Outfitted with a bare copper rod
- Measures 10.5" tall
- Tag is 1.75"
This product ships from the maker within 7 days, via USPS
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|We've started to add new and updated images from TNG to the system. These image come form the new TNG BluRay disk set for season 1. The easiest way of seeing them is through the episode review pages. The quality is simply stunning. Hope you enjoy them.
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- April 30: Nissan Recalls LEAF and Sentra to Fix Airbags recalls | 1 days ago
- April 26: Infiniti Q50 InTouch Lawsuit Will Be Settled news | 5 days ago
- April 16: Nissan Sentra Transmission Lawsuit Alleges CVTs Are Defective news | 15 days ago
- March 27: Nissan EVAP Canister Warranty Extended news | 35 days ago
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NHTSA — Power Train Problems
2007 Nissan Xterra (Page 8 of 9)
CarComplaints.com Notes: The 2005-2007 Xterra appears to have a widespread defect where coolant leaks into the transmission, causing transmission failure around 90,000 miles. Repair costs are typically upwards of $3,500.
The same defect exists in the Pathfinder & Frontier as well. And according to the New York Times & a class action lawsuit, the defect actually extends through 2010 model year. More info here.
10.0really awful
- Crashes / Fires:
- 1 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 1 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 104,495 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
drivetrain problem


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|Thanks Chris - Very helpful and detailed! Really appreciate it!
Answers by Expert:
20+ years flooring installation ...carpet,wood,tile and vinyl. Residential and commercial. I do not sell the products , just install what ever the shop / customer has purchased. I actually love seeing the finished project completed and it gives me great satisfaction to help others acheive that goal. If I don't know the answer I will say so, and then I will recommend another expert for you. I may even research the subject and answer to the best of my ability ...including links to my sources. I wish you all success Chris
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Ly Loan
Ly Loan is a friendly and cosy family run guesthouse that opened in 2005 and refurnished in 2009. With our clean rooms, facilities and hospitable service, you will have comfortable stay, great facilities and attentive service.
Ly Loan is located at a quiet alley off Pham Ngu Lao street, the heart of Backpackers' area in District 1.
We have single, double, twin, triple and family rooms to suit your different needs. Every room comes with air conditioner, hot shower, bath tub, cable TV, internet cable, free wifi, fridge, ceiling fan and even a balcony! All rooms are serviced everyday and clean towels supplied daily.
Our guesthouse is located near:
- War Museum
- Ben Thanh Market
- Reunification Place
- Notre Dame Church
- Main Post Office
- Banks, ATMs (Commenwealth, ANZ, HSBC, etc)
- Convenient Store open 24 hours etc...
- Check in time :2pm
- Check out time: 11.30am
EXCEPTION: Should you wish to extend the check out time, addtitional charge will apply (e.g. up to 6pm on the same day, half day charge will apply)
- We will reserve the room for you up to 3 hours from the confirmed arriving time.
- Should there be changes please email us.
We are looking forward to seeing and serving you soon.
Availability & RatesTo view availability and prices please select dates and click 'Update Dates'
Hostel Facilities & Policies
- Air Conditioning
- Cable TV
- Ceiling Fan
- Free Internet Access
- Free WiFi
- Hot Showers
- Hot Tub
- Security Lockers
- Luggage Storage
Cancellation PolicyThis property has a 1 day cancellation policy. Failure to cancel within this time will result in a cancellation charge equal to the first night of your stay.
Must-Read Hostel InfoThis property has specific Terms & Conditions.
The full balance due needs to be paid on the arrival
1. Passport is required when check in ( Police rule )2. The full balance due needs to be paid on the arrival3. Visitors are not allowed to come to the room4. Take off the shoes
5. Breakfast is not included
DirectionsShow MapHide Map
From Airport: For a safe and short routine, please be advised to take a metered taxi only. The most popularly and highly recommended taxi companies include VINASUN and MAI LINH. The public fee is just around 160.000 or 170,000 VND/way/taxi (approximately 7-8 US$).
Take a taxi to Pham Ngu Lao street (7km) and enter alley 241 (between Liberty 4 Hotel and ABC bakery). We are just 15 meters into the alley, turn the left and you will see us on the 1st house
From Open Tour bus or from Phnom Penh:
it takes a few minutes walk from the bus stops (on Pham Ngu Lao street) you can see the alley 241 between Liberty 4 Hotel and ABC bakery) turn into 241 alley about 2 mins and turn the left side we are on the 1st house
Located Near
War Museum, Ben Thanh Market, Reunification Place, Notre Dame Church, Main Post Office etc...


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Philips SHE3590WT/10 In-Ear Headphones (White)
The Philips SHE3590 In-Ear Headphones are offered in distinctive colors to match for all occasions. The ultra small in-ear design conforms to ear shape for best fit, and the earphones come with soft caps for comfort and compact fit. With small efficient speakers for dynamic bass and clear sound, these in-ear headphones are ideal for your listening enjoyment.
Bling Buds #3024 Purple Crystal Covered Headphones in Retractable Case
Bling buds add sparkle to your music


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Family: Paridae, Chickadees and Titmice view all from this family
Description ADULT Has mainly soft blue-gray upperparts with a peaked crest and blackish forehead. Dark eye is emphasized by otherwise pale face and underparts are mainly very pale blue-gray, with orange-buff wash on flanks and whitish undertail coverts. Bill is dark and legs are blue-gray. JUVENILE Similar, but has grayish forehead.
Dimensions Length: 6" (15 cm)
Habitat Common resident of dry, open wood habitats including deciduous woodland, mature gardens, and urban parks.
Observation Tips Easy to find. Encourage it with feeders and nest boxes.
Range Florida, New England, Great Lakes, Eastern Canada, Mid-Atlantic, Plains, Texas, Southeast
Voice Song is a disyllabic peet-oo, peet-ooÖ; call is a nasal zree.
Discussion Distinctive and endearing bird that is inquisitive and often indifferent to observers. Easily recognized as a titmouse by its tufted crest and blue-gray plumage. Nests in natural tree holes, but readily uses nest boxes in wooded suburbs. Regularly visits feeders, especially during winter months. Sexes are similar.


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I "just found" out what I have long suspected ShopKo is not a viable option for SW collecting. The other day I was in Watertown checking on Target and Wal-Mart, when I decided to hit up ShopKo to see if it had anything unique on the shelves.
What I found was that they had exactly zero ROTS figures. None. So I left the toy section and started scavenging around the store to see if there was a big display somewhere. Nope.
Then I grabbed an employee, who looked at me like I was speaking some language that didn't exist when I asked her where the ROTS toys were. Holy crap!
It seems unbelievable that large department store chains wouldn't have their shelves stocked or even have a section ready to be stocked with some of the hottest toys around.
Anyway, an unstocked store was all I found in Watertown.


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I think you need more than a diode - you need to have the WS2801 drive a transistor to sink current thru the LEDs.See the figure 8 discussion on pages 9 & 10 of the datasheet.WS2801 is still powered from 5V, the LED string with current limit resistor is powered from 12V.
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Wineke: No wonder Cardinal wanted past silenced
C3K columnist looks at actions of former Archbishop
Just keep this in mind before you read further: Retired Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony will be one of the Roman Catholic prelates who chooses the next pope should Pope Benedict XVI die before 2016.
Why is that important? Because, according to documents released during the past couple of weeks, Cardinal Mahony actively conspired with his chief adviser on sexual abuse to hide diocesan priests from criminal prosecution.
The fact that Los Angeles was a hotbed of predator priests is not news. The archdiocese has already committed $616 million – more than a half-billion dollars! – to compensate victims of that abuse. But church officials tried strenuously to keep their records of child abuse secret and, at the least, to have names of church officials dealing with the offending priests blacked out from public view.
Now we know why.
The records show that the cardinal and his chief adviser on sexual abuse, one Monsignor Thomas Curry, were well aware of what their priests were doing and that those activities were illegal.
They didn't just ignore the abuse; they sent the offending priests for psychiatric treatment at an out-of-state center – but they did make sure that any therapy done was not done in California, where the therapist would be mandated by law to report the crime.
Mahony says he really didn't understand how devastating the rape of young people by priests must have been for the victims until he started meeting with them in the 1990s, about a decade after the abuse occurred.
Let's take him at his word: the archbishop of Los Angeles, a prince of the Roman Catholic Church, one of the cardinals who may well help choose the next pope, didn't understand that being raped by a priest might be emotionally difficult for an altar boy?
If Mahony were alone in all this, it might be one thing.
He's not alone. He is part of a pattern. That former adviser we talked about, Monsignor Curry? Curry is now auxiliary bishop of Santa Barbra, California. Advising his archbishop on how to shield rapists from the law doesn't seem to have harmed his career.
Mahony's colleague in Boston, Cardinal Bernard Law, was even more egregious in shielding rapists and perverts. Law now lives in a luxurious apartment in Rome, is pastor of a major basilica, and reports last week suggests he was one of the prime movers in a Vatican investigation of American nuns.
Should these guys have known better? Well, in the early 1990s, the bishops hired the Rev. Thomas Doyle, a Spring Green native, as their adviser on the sex abuse crisis. He issued a prophetic report about what would await the church if the bishops didn't act. The bishops fired him.
That was a long time ago, two decades ago. About two weeks ago, the church in Germany fired the criminologist it hired to investigate child abuse in that country. It seems he wanted to make his report public.
This is not a priest problem; this is a bishop problem. It isn't getting any better.
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Home > Education at QBG > NYC Compost Project hosted by QBG > Master Composter Certificate Program
Master Composter Certificate Program
Become a New York City Certified Master Composter. Have fun and make new friends while helping your community!
The Master Composter Certificate Program is a "train-the-trainer" program with a community service component. The course is for residents who would like to help the NYC Compost Project increase and promote composting in NYC.
This course covers the following topics:
Anyone who has an interest in composting can become a Master Composter! The prerequisites are an enthusiasm for acquiring and sharing knowledge about composting and the interest and time to participate. Master Composters are valued volunteers trained to educate the public and stimulate enthusiasm for home composting.
Master Composter Course Requirements:
Participants design projects according to their interests; projects might include giving classes at schools, building compost bins at community gardens, giving workshops at block parties, creating a community compost site or working to improve current NYC Compost Project Community Compost Sites.
Eligibility: Participants must live or work in New York City.
Fee: Course material fee $40; limited scholarships are available.
Deadline: Sunday, February 5th. Apply online.
Class dates and time:
Wednesdays: March 15, 22, 29; April 5, 12, 19, 6 to 9pm
Saturdays: April 1, 8, 10am to 1 pm
Field trips: 2 weekend field trips, dates and locations TBD.
Location: Queens Botanical Garden.
Contact the NYC Compost Project hosted by Queens Botanical Garden staff by email or phone 718.539.LAWN (5296) with your questions.
The NYC Compost Project works to rebuild NYC's soils by providing New Yorkers with the knowledge, skills and opportunities they need to produce and use compost locally. The project is funded and managed by the
NYC Department of Sanitation's Bureau of Recycling & Sustainability. Learn more at nyc.gov/compostproject
Hours & Directions | Press Room | Copyright 2006 Queens Botanical Garden | 43-50 Main Street, Flushing, NY 11355 | 718.886.3800 | firstname.lastname@example.com
Support to QBG given by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs


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Mmm, yes that should work. Give me a little more time to tidy up the code & I'll post it here.
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