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Retirement confidence at a new low
Category: Business Written by CNN
by Melanie Hicken
CNN—Despite improving economic conditions, a record percentage of American workers remain worried that they won't be able to afford retirement.
They're worried about their jobs, high debt levels and rising living expenses, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Only 13 percent of workers surveyed said they "feel very confident" that they will be able to retire comfortably—less than half the percentage reported in 2007.
Nearly half—49 percent—said they were "not too" or "not at all" confident.
A large chunk of the workers surveyed have little or no retirement savings. Of those who provided estimates, 57 percent reported household savings and investments of less than $25,000, which included 28 percent of respondents who said they had less than $1,000. Only 24 percent reported savings of $100,000 or more.
Debt is standing in the way of saving. More than half of workers reported having a problem with their level of debt, while only about half of those surveyed said they could definitely cover $2,000 worth of unexpected expenses within the next month.
"Many lack even a short-term cushion," Matt Greenwald, president of Greenwald & Associates, a market research firm which conducted and co-sponsored the survey, said in a release.
Though economic conditions are improving, workers may also be waking up to just how much they actually need to save for retirement, according to EBRI.
Workers fear that cuts to Social Security could leave them picking up a bigger share of retirement expenses. Nearly 70 percent of workers reported a lack of confidence that Social Security would be kept at current benefit levels.
Spiraling health care costs and long-term care expenses are also a growing concern.
In 2013, 29 percent of respondents expressed concern with their ability to cover medical costs in retirement, up from 24 percent last year. Nearly 40 percent said they were worried about paying for long-term care, compared to 34 percent last year.
The survey polled 1,254 Americans ages 25 and older, including 1,003 workers and 251 retirees.
Last Updated on Thursday, 21 March 2013 14:27
Hits: 247
New tax rules for your small business
Category: Business Written by Courier Newsroom
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 resolved most of the tax issues that were a part of last year's "fiscal cliff" debates and answered many pending tax questions for small businesses. The act will have an effect on businesses and long-term planning implications, so the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants offers this update to answer some of the most common questions.
Are There Changes in Payroll Taxes?
Immediately after Jan. 1, 2013, the new law did not extend the temporary 2 percent reduction in the employees' portion of the Social Security payroll tax. That increase, which is not related to the new law, returns the tax to 6.2 percent on income up to $113,700 in 2013. In addition, there is a 0.9 percent Medicare surtax on certain taxpayers who earn in excess of $250,000.
What about Section 179 Expensing?
The law does extend a number of valuable small business provisions, including small-business expensing under Internal Revenue Code Section 179, through 2013 and retroactive to the beginning of 2012. The deductions can be used for purchases of a wide range of new and used capital equipment, including software, from both last year and this year. The dollar limit that can be expensed in 2012 and 2013 is $500,000, with a $2 million investment limit. There is some uncertainty in this area going forward, since the expensing and investment limits are set to drop significantly in 2014. Your CPA can offer advice on the best steps for your business.
Can I Still Use Bonus Depreciation?
Small companies can also continue to take advantage of 50 percent bonus depreciation through 2013. This applies to new assets that are expected to last 20 years or less. It is possible to apply Section 179 and 50 percent on the same asset, but some limitations apply. In addition, since this option also expires at the end of the year, it may affect your 2013 purchasing decisions. Ask your CPA for the details.
What Credits Are Available?
Company owners are still eligible for several credits. The Work Opportunity Tax Credit, for example, is available through 2013 to those who hire workers from specific groups, including qualified veterans. (To receive the credit, you must have certification from your state's employment security agency.) Companies can also continue to benefit from the Section 41 research tax credit, which can be applied to increased research activities, through the end of 2013.
Are There Any Other Incentives?
On the list of preserved items is the 15-year recovery period for qualified leasehold improvements, qualified retail improvements, and qualified restaurant property, which were extended until the end of 2013. The 100 percent exclusion for gains on a sale of small-business stock can be used through the end of this year. In addition, the special tax incentives for empowerment zones and rules on S corporations making charitable donations of property remain in force.
Were There Changes to Estate Tax Rules?
Business owners should also be interested in the act's impact on individual taxes. Of particular interest may be the permanent retention of the existing estate and gift tax exclusion, which was held at an inflation-adjusted $5 million. (That translates to $5.12 million in 2012 and $5.25 million this year.) The top estate tax rate rose to 40 percent from 35 percent on Jan. 1, 2013, but that is much lower than the 55 percent it was set to reach—with a $1 million exclusion amount—if the act had not been passed. On another front, the estate tax portability election, which allows a surviving spouse to use a deceased spouse's unused exemption amount, has been made permanent.
Your CPA Can Help
While one fiscal crisis has passed, several more are looming. Discussions on the federal debt ceiling are pending, as are the debates on the federal budget and tax law changes. Business planning is critical, so turn to your local CPA for understandable and practical advice on the best available tax-planning choices. To find a CPA in Pennsylvania by location and area of expertise, or for more tax resources, visit www.picpa.org/taxhelp.
Last Updated on Thursday, 21 March 2013 14:29
Hits: 566
Credit check can be a barrier to job or promotion
Category: Business Written by Charlene Crowell
(NNPA)—As Black America continues to struggle with high unemployment rates, a new research report by Demos, a public policy organization titled, Discredited: How employment credit checks keep qualified workers out of a job, unveils how the use of credit history in employment decisions is often leaving people of color in the unemployment lines.
Among employers with fiduciary responsibilities, it is a long-standing practice to include credit reviews in hiring decisions. Banks, credit unions and similar employers should be careful in handling others' money and deposits. But the Demos report found that employment credit checks now are becoming standard operating procedures for many employees without such responsibilities. In these instances, disproportionately screening people of color out of jobs can lead to discriminatory hiring.
With higher rates of unemployment and the additional burden of wealth disparities, many African-American and Latino households have a greater need to borrow for emergencies and are also at a greater risk for foreclosure or loan default.
Surveying nearly 1,000 low- and middle-income households with credit card debt, Demos found that people of color are disproportionately likely to report worse credit than Whites. Even for employed persons seeking a promotion at work, credit scores can be a factor in deciding which employee will get the better job.
Consumers surveyed shared that much of the debt going to collections agencies was for unexpected medical costs rather than for retail credit card usage. Households without health coverage were more than twice as likely to report that their credit score had declined in the past three years.
"It makes little sense to say that someone is not a good candidate for a job because they are still coping with the expense of a costly family medical emergency several years ago," the report said. "Yet this may be exactly the type of situation that a blemished credit history indicates: having unpaid medical bills or medical debt is cited as one of the leading causes of bad credit among survey respondents."
Amy Traub, the report's author and a senior policy analyst at Demos, was even more frank. "This practice continues because it financially benefits the companies that market and sell this information to employers with little concern for the negative impact to the economic security of those with most at stake—low- and middle-income Americans struggling to find work in a tough job market."
This specific finding on medical debt mirrors another by the Federal Reserve Board. According to the Fed, 52 percent of all accounts reported by collection agencies consisted of medical debt.
These consistent findings on medical debt are also reflected in America's disproportionate unemployment data. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics continues to show that Black unemployment doubles that of Whites. From December 2012 through February 2013, White unemployment averaged 7 percent. By contrast, Black unemployment stood at 14 percent.
So what is a debt-burdened, unemployed consumer to do?
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) allows employers to request credit reports on job applicants and existing employees. The statute also lays out specific steps under which these credit checks must occur. By law, employers must:
First obtain written permission from the affected consumer before a credit review;
Notify individuals before any adverse action is taken as a result of the credit review;
Offer the employee or applicant a copy of the credit report, along with a written summary of his/her consumer' rights; and
Provide job applicants with a brief period of time to dispute any errors in their report.
Additionally, eight states have laws against employment discrimination involving applicants' credit history: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Washington, and Vermont.
Currently three other states are now considering similar legislation: Colorado, Massachusetts and New York.
If your state lacks laws against this type of discrimination, contact your local legislator about passing such legislation.
(Charlene Crowell is a communications manager with the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.com)
Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 March 2013 12:34
Hits: 484
Do sexy flight attendants really sell more seats?
Category: Business Written by CNN
FLIGHT ATTENDANTS--Singapore Airlines' iconic Singapore Girl first appeared in 1972 wearing the "sarong kabaya" uniform, inspired by traditional attire found across much of Southeast Asia. (Photo/Singapore Airlines).
by Ramy Inocencio in Hong Kong and Frances Cha in Seoul
(CNN) -- Images of bikini-clad women in Thailand posing suggestively in an online ad for a local airline inflamed passions -- both positive and negative -- earlier this year.
Last Updated on Thursday, 21 March 2013 12:13
Hits: 1138
Greenwood joins McDonald on Marcellus Chamber board
Category: Business Written by Christian Morrow - Courier Staff Writer
L.C. GREENWOOD becomes second Black on board.
When Consol Energy won the right to pay Allegheny County $500 million to extract natural gas from the International Airport property, the Marcellus Shale boom moved a little closer to Pittsburgh.
On March 14 it took another step closer when Steelers Hall-of-Famer L.C. Greenwood was named to the board of Southpointe Marcellus Shale Chamber of Commerce. The announcement was made during the chamber's March luncheon at Southpointe.
Greenwood, whose Carnegie-based Greenwood Enterprises also includes packaging and manufacturing businesses, is working to expand his Greenwood-McDonald electrical supply throughout the Marcellus extraction and supply stream.
In his typically stoic fashion, beyond waving and saying "thank you," Greenwood declined an offer from Chamber founder Don Hoder to speak during the luncheon presentations, preferring to remain at his table with Monaloh Basin Engineers founder Jim McDonald, Randall Industries founder Greg Spencer and chamber ambassador Scotti Mulert.
Spencer said he has been making inroads with various shale gas producers, but even with his past history as a vice president with EQT, it has been slow.
"There are a lot of new players, and the guys who know me know me mostly from (Department of Defense) contracting years ago," he said. "So it's fine tuning to get them to know what I'm doing now."
Spencer has several products he developed for cleaning and de-scaling well pipes, which he sells to industry supplier Mays Energy, which like his firm is based in Indianola, Pa.
"I'm trying to see how the big players interact with the chamber and the mid-stream companies," he said.
McDonald, whose engineering company is based in Finley Township, Pa., has been the lone African-American chamber member for years, and always an advocate to increased minority participation. While he said it is great to see Spencer, and to have Greenwood join him on the board, he's not waiting for anything.
"I'm here at the meetings. I'm going to the companies. I'm going after it," he said.
McDonald said he is currently bidding to do the site surveying work at the airport site that Consol will need before it even does any environmental or geotechnical evaluation.
"We already did a survey of the property for the (Transportation Safety Administration), so I'm pushing that experience," he said.
His efforts may be paying off in one respect, he said. Consol recently hired a general manager for supplier diversity.
Hoder, who has known and worked with McDonald for 30 years, said there are opportunities throughout the shale supply chain.
"Trucking, pipe, surveyors, lawyers, accountants—demand is greater than the folks these companies have dealt with historically can provide," he said. "Years ago I got a tiny contract to do the security system at Clark University—I was the only White guy there. But the prime was impressed with the work. I'm still getting work from that one contract. There is a lot of opportunity in this room, you just have to be ready for it."
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 20 March 2013 09:23
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City of Alexandria, VA
Public Safety PartnershipsThe Alexandria Sheriff's Office is committed to fulfilling its role as Alexandria's secondary law enforcement agency. In addition to its primary duties, the Sheriff's Office supports the Alexandria Police Department, as needed, to ensure that Alexandrians are provided the best in public safety services. Working in partnership, the Sheriff's Office and Police Department serve together on law enforcement related projects to produce a safer Alexandria. The Sheriff's Office facilitates public safety in Alexandria through its:

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Foster care
Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in an institution, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver referred to as a "foster parent". The placement of the child is usually arranged through the government or a social-service agency. The institution, group home or foster parent is compensated for expenses.[1]
The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of said minor. The foster parent receives a stipend from the state for expenses incurred.
Contents |
History [edit]
This section requires expansion. (September 2012) |
The foster care system in the modern sense had its beginnings in 1853 in both the United Kingdom and the United States. In the U.K. the Reverend John Armistead removed children from a workhouse in Cheshire, and placed them with foster families. The local council was legally responsible for the children and paid the foster parents for their maintenance. In the U.S. the Children's Aid Society founded by Charles Loring Brace started the Orphan Train Movement to help get orphaned, abused and neglected children off the streets of New York City, and afterwards other overcrowded cities on the East Coast of the United States, and sent via train to foster homes across the United States.[2]
Foster care placement [edit]
Family-based foster care is generally preferred to other forms of out of home care.[3] Foster care is intended to be a short term solution until a permanent placement can be made.[4] Generally the first choice of adoptive parents is a relative such as an aunt, uncle or grandparent. If no related family member is willing or able to adopt, the next preference is for the child to be adopted by the foster parents or by someone else involved in the child's life (such as a teacher or coach). This is to maintain continuity in the child's life. If neither above option are available, the child may be adopted by someone who is a stranger to the child.
If none of these options are viable the plan for the minor may be to enter OPPLA (Other Planned Permanent Living Arrangement). This option allows the child to stay in custody of the state and the child can stay placed in a foster home, with a relative or a long term care facility (for children with development disabilities, physical disabilities or mental disabilities).
547,415 children were in publicly supported foster care in the United States in September 2000.[5] In 2009, there were 423,773 children in foster care, a drop of about 20% in a decade.[6]
In 2013, there were about 104,000 children ready for adoptive families in the nation's foster care systems.[7] African American children represented 41% of children in foster care, white children represented 40% and Hispanic children represented 15% in 2000.[5]. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer, LGBTQ youth represent a large percentage due to families of origin placing their children in foster care due to their sexuality or gender expression. Once in care, some "75% are physically harassed by staff or other youth'. After emancipation, LGBTQ foster youth represent a larger percentage of foster youth who end up homeless--'up to 40%'. America's Most Unwanted, LGBTQ foster youth film. [8]
Children may only enter foster care voluntarily. Voluntary placement may occur when a biological parent or lawful guardian is unable to care for a child. Involuntary placement occurs when a child is removed from their biological parent or lawful guardian due to the risk or actual occurrence of physical or psychological harm. In the US, most children enter foster care due to neglect.[9] If a biological parent or lawful guardian is unwilling to care for a child, the child is deemed to be dependent and is placed under the care of the child protection agency. The policies regarding foster care as well as the criteria to be met in order to become a foster parent vary according to legal jurisdiction.
Especially egregious failures of child protective services often serve as a catalyst for increased removal of children from the homes of biological parents. An example is the brutal torture and murder of 17-month-old Peter Connelly, a British toddler who died in London Borough of Haringey, North London after suffering more than 50 severe injuries over an eight-month period, including eight broken ribs and a broken back. Throughout the period of time in which he was being tortured he was repeatedly seen by Haringey Children's services and NHS health professionals.[10] Haringey Children's services already failed ten years earlier in the case of Victoria Climbié.[11] In the time since his death in 2007 cases have reached a record rate in England surpassing 10,000 in the reporting year ending in March 2012.[12]
There have been recorded neglects and deaths that occur in foster care; The State Department of Human Services reported 32 neglect or abuse deaths [13]
Abuse and negligence [edit]
From 1993 through 2002 there were 107 recorded deaths; there is approximately 400,000 children in out-of-home care, in the United States. Almost 10% of children in foster care have stayed in foster care for 5 or more years. Nearly half of all children in foster care have chronic medical problems. 8% of all children in foster care have serious emotional problems, 11% of children exiting foster care aged out of the system, in 2011.[14] Children in foster care experience high rates of child abuse, emotional deprivation, and physical neglect. In one study in the United Kingdom "foster children were 7–8 times, and children in residential care 6 times more likely to be assessed by a pediatrician for abuse than a child in the general population".[15] A study of foster children in Oregon and Washington State found that nearly one third reported being abused by a foster parent or another adult in a foster home.[16] These statistics do not speak to the situation these children are coming from, but it does show the very large problem of child-on-child sexual abuse within the system.
Medical and psychiatric disorders [edit]
A higher prevalence of physical, psychological, cognitive and epigenetic disorders for children in foster care has been established in studies in various countries. The Casey Family Programs Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study was a fairly extensive study of various aspects of children who had been in foster care. It noted that 80% of ex-foster children are doing "poorly".
Individuals who were in foster care experience higher rates of physical and psychiatric morbidity than the general population and suffer from not being able to trust and that can lead to placements breaking down.[17] In the Casey study of foster children in Oregon and Washington state, they were found to have double the incidence of depression, 20% as compared to 10% and were found to have a higher rate of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than combat veterans with 25% of those studied having PTSD. Children in foster care have a higher probability of having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and deficits in executive functioning, anxiety as well as other developmental problems.[18][19][20][21] These children experience higher degrees of incarceration, poverty, homelessness, and suicide. Studies in the U.S. have suggested that some foster care placements may be more detrimental to children than remaining in a troubled home,[22] but a more recent study suggested that these findings may have been affected by selection bias, and that foster care has little effect on behavioral problems.[23]
Neurodevelopment [edit]
Foster children have elevated levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, in comparison to children raised by their biological parents. Elevated cortisol levels can compromise the immune system. (Harden BJ, 2004).[24] Most of the processes involved in healthy neurodevelopment are predicated upon the establishment of close nurturing relationships and environmental stimulation. Negative environmental influences during this critical period of brain development can have lifelong consequences.[25][26][27][28]
Posttraumatic stress disorder [edit]
Children in foster care have a higher incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In one study,[30] 60% of children in foster care who had experienced sexual abuse had PTSD, and 42% of those who had been physically abused fulfilled the PTSD criteria. PTSD was also found in 18% of the children who were not abused. These children may have developed PTSD due to witnessing violence in the home. (Marsenich, 2002).
In a study conducted in Oregon and Washington state, the rate of PTSD in adults who were in foster care for one year between the ages of 14–18 was found to be higher than that of combat veterans, with 25 percent of those in the study meeting the diagnostic criteria as compared to 12–13 percent of Iraq war veterans and 15 percent of Vietnam war veterans, and a rate of 4% in the general population. The recovery rate for foster home alumni was 28.2% as opposed to 47% in the general population.
"More than half the study participants reported clinical levels of mental illness, compared to less than a quarter of the general population".[31][32]
Eating disorders [edit]
Foster children are at increased risk for a variety of eating disorders in comparison to the general population. In a study done in the United Kingdom, 35% of foster children experienced an increase in Body Mass Index (BMI) once in care.[33] Food Maintenance Syndrome is characterized by a set of aberrant eating behaviors of children in foster care. It is "a pattern of excessive eating and food acquisition and maintenance behaviors without concurrent obesity"; it resembles "the behavioral correlates of Hyperphagic Short Stature". It is hypothesised that this syndrome is triggered by the stress and maltreatment foster children are subjected to, it was prevalent amongst 25 percent of the study group in New Zealand.[19] Bulimia Nervosa is seven times more prevalent among former foster children than in the general population.[34]
Poverty and homelessness [edit]
Nearly half of foster kids in the U.S. become homeless when they turn 18.[35][36] "One of every 10 foster children stays in foster care longer than seven years, and each year about 15,000 reach the age of majority and leave foster care without a permanent family—many to join the ranks of the homeless or to commit crimes and be imprisoned.[37][38]
Three out of 10 of the United States homeless are former foster children.[39] According to the results of the Casey Family Study of Foster Care Alumni, up to 80 percent are doing poorly—with a quarter to a third of former foster children at or below the poverty line, three times the national poverty rate.[40] Very frequently, people who are homeless had multiple placements as children: some were in foster care, but others experienced "unofficial" placements in the homes of family or friends.
Individuals with a history of foster care tend to become homeless at an earlier age than those who were not in foster care.[citation needed] The length of time a person remains homeless is longer in individuals who were in foster care.[41]
Suicide-death rate [edit]
Children in foster care are at a greater risk of suicide,[42] the increased risk of suicide is still prevalent after leaving foster care and occurs at a higher rate than the general population. In a small study of twenty-two Texan youths who aged out of the system, 23 percent had a history of suicide attempts.[43]
A Swedish study utilizing the data of almost one million people including 22,305 former foster children who had been in care prior to their teens, concluded:
Former child welfare clients were in year of birth and sex standardised risk ratios (RRs) four to five times more likely than peers in the general population to have been hospitalised for suicide attempts....Individuals who had been in long-term foster care tended to have the most dismal outcome...former child welfare/protection clients should be considered a high-risk group for suicide attempts and severe psychiatric morbidity.[44]
Death rate
Children in foster care have an overall higher mortality rate than children in the general population.[45] A study conducted in Finland among current and former foster children up to age 24 found a higher mortality rate due to substance abuse, accidents, suicide and illness. The deaths due to illness were attributed to an increased incidence of acute and chronic medical conditions and developmental delays among children in foster care.[46]
Georgia Senator Nancy Schaefer published a report "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services"[47] stating:
"The National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in 1998 reported that six times as many children died in foster care than in the general public and that once removed to official "safety", these children are far more likely to suffer abuse, including sexual molestation than in the general population".[47]
Academic prospects [edit]
Educational outcomes of ex-foster children in the Northwest Alumni Study:[48]
- 56% completed high school compared to 82% of the general population, although an additional 29% of former foster children received a G.E.D. compared to an additional 5% of the general population.
- 42.7% completed some education beyond high school.
- 20.6% completed any degree or certificate beyond high school
- 16.1% completed a vocational degree; 21.9% for those over 25.
- 1.8% complete a bachelors degree, 2.7% for over 25, the completion rate for the general population in the same age group is 24%, a sizable difference.
The study reviewed case records for 659 foster care alumni in Northwest USA, and interviewed 479 of them between September 2000 and January 2002.[48]
Psychotropic medication use [edit]
Studies have revealed that youth in foster care covered by Medicaid insurance receive psychotropic medication at a rate that was 3 times higher than that of Medicaid-insured youth who qualify by low family income. In a review (September 2003 to August 2004) of the medical records of 32,135 Texas foster care 0–19 years-old, 12,189 were prescribed psychotropic medication, resulting in an annual prevalence of 37.9% of these children being prescribed medication. 41.3% received 3 different classes of these drugs during July 2004, and 15.9% received 4 different classes. The most frequently used medications were antidepressants (56.8%), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder drugs (55.9%), and antipsychotic agents (53.2%). The study also showed that youth in foster care are frequently treated with concomitant psychotropic medication, for which sufficient evidence regarding safety and effectiveness is not available.[49]
The use of expensive, brand name, patent protected medication was prevalent. In the case of SSRIs the use of the most expensive medications was noted to be 74%; in the general market only 28% are for brand name SSRI's vs generics. The average out-of-pocket expense per prescription was $34.75 for generics and $90.17 for branded products, a $55.42, difference.[50]
Therapeutic intervention [edit]
Children in the child welfare system have often experienced significant and repeated traumas and having a background in foster homes—especially in instances of sexual abuse—can be the precipitating factor in a wide variety of psychological and cognitive deficits[51] it may also serve to obfuscate the true cause of underlying issues. The foster care experience may have nothing to do with the symptoms, or on the other hand, a disorder may be exacerbated by having a history of foster care and attendant abuses. The human brain however has been shown to have a fair degree of neuroplasticity.[52][53][54] and adult neurogenesis has been shown to be an ongoing process.[55]
- Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy is one of the approaches that has been used to treat the resulting trauma and attachment difficulties caused by chronic early maltreatment within a care-giving relationship.[56][57][58]
Cross-Cultural Adoption Policies [edit]
George Shanti, Nico Van Oudenhoven, and Ekha Wazir, co-author's of Foster Care Beyond the Crossroads: Lessons from an International Comparative Analysis, say that there are four types of Government foster care systems. The first one is that of developing countries. These countries do not have policies implemented to take care of the basic needs of these children and these children mostly receive assistance from relatives. The second system is that of former socialist governments. The historical context of these states has not allowed for the evolution of their foster care system. NGO's have urged them to evolve; however the traditional system of institutionalizing these children is still in place. Thirdly, liberal democracies do not have the support from its political system in order to take care of these children, even though they have the resources. Finally, social democracies are the most advanced governments in regards to their foster care system. These governments have a massive infrastructure, funding, and support system in order to help foster care children.[59]
Foster care adoption [edit]
Foster care adoption is a type of domestic adoption where the child is initially placed into a foster care system and is subsequently placed for adoption. Children may be placed into foster care for a variety of reasons, including removal from the home by a governmental agency because of maltreatment.[60] In some jurisdictions, adoptive parents are licensed as and technically considered foster parents while the adoption is being finalized.[61] According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau, there were approximately 408,425 children in foster care in 2010. Of those children, twenty-five percent had a goal of adoption. In 2010, 254,114 children exited foster care and twenty-one percent were adopted.[62] Nationwide, there are more than one hundred thousand children in the U.S. foster care system waiting for permanent families.[63]
Foster care in popular culture [edit]
Fictional characters who have been in foster care have been represented in a variety of mass entertainment media throughout the years including the following television shows:
Famous former foster children:
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ "Foster care". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
- ^ The Children's Aid Society: The Orphan Trains
- ^ Barber, James G.; Delfabbro, Paul H. (2003). Children in Foster Care. New York: Routledge – via Questia (subscription required). pp. 3–4.
- ^ Dorsey et Al. Current status and evidence base of training for foster and treatment foster parents
- ^ a b "Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care ''Demographics of Children in Foster Care''". Pewfostercare.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ "Fewer U.S. kids in foster care". Burlington, Vermont: Burlington Free Press. 1 September 2010. pp. 1A.[dead link]
- ^ "About Foster Children". Adoptuskids.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ America's Most Unwanted intimate interviews from LGBTQ foster youth
- ^ "Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care". Pewfostercare.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ BBC: A short life of misery and pain [1]
- ^ White, Michael (2008-11-12). "Squabble over Baby P was not the Commons at its best". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Mail Online:10,000 children taken into care: Numbers have doubled in the past four years [2]
- ^ "Deaths in Foster Care". Children's Advocacy Institute. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ "Foster Care Foacts and Statistics". FCAA. Retrieved March 31, 2013.
- ^ Hobbs, GF; Hobbs, CJ; Wynne, JM (1999). "Abuse of children in foster and resident ial care". Child abuse & neglect 23 (12): 1239–52. doi:10.1016/S0145-2134(99)00096-4. PMID 10626608.
- ^ Pecora, Peter J. "Improving Family Foster Care | Casey Family Programs". Casey.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ McCann, JB; James, A; Wilson, S; Dunn, G (1996). "Prevalence of psychiatric disorders in young people in the care system". BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 313 (7071): 1529–30. doi:10.1136/bmj.313.7071.1529. PMC 2353045. PMID 8978231.
- ^ Pears, K; Fisher, PA (2005). "Developmental, cognitive, and neuropsychological functioning in preschool-aged foster children: associations with prior maltreatment and placement history". Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP 26 (2): 112–22. PMID 15827462.
- ^ a b Tarren-Sweeney, M; Hazell, P (2006). "Mental health of children in foster and kinship care in New South Wales, Australia". Journal of paediatrics and child health 42 (3): 89–97. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2006.00804.x. PMID 16509906.
- ^ Pecora, PJ; Jensen, PS; Romanelli, LH; Jackson, LJ; Ortiz, A (2009). "Mental health services for children placed in foster care: an overview of current challenges". Child welfare 88 (1): 5–26. PMC 3061347. PMID 19653451.
- ^ Karnik, Niranjan S. (2000). Journal of Medical Humanities 21 (4): 199. doi:10.1023/A:1009073008365.
- ^ "Child Protection and Child Outcomes: Measuring the Effects of Foster Care" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- Lawrence, CR; Carlson, EA; Egeland, B (2006). "The impact of foster care on development". Development and Psychopathology 18 (1): 57–76. doi:10.1017/S0954579406060044. PMID 16478552.
- ^ Berger, Lawrence M.; Bruch, Sarah K.; Johnson, Elizabeth I.; James, Sigrid; Rubin, David (2009). "Estimating the "Impact" of Out-of-Home Placement on Child Well-Being: Approaching the Problem of Selection Bias". Child Development 80 (6): 1856–1876. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01372.x.
- ^ Harden, BJ (2004). "Safety and stability for foster children: a developmental perspective". The Future of children / Center for the Future of Children, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation 14 (1): 30–47. PMID 15072017.
- ^ "American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Early Childhood and Adoption and Dependent Care. Developmental issues for young children in foster care". Pediatrics 106 (5): 1145–50. 2000. PMID 11061791.
- ^ Silverman, AB; Reinherz, HZ; Giaconia, RM (1996). "The long-term sequelae of child and adolescent abuse: a longitudinal community study". Child abuse & neglect 20 (8): 709–23. doi:10.1016/0145-2134(96)00059-2. PMID 8866117.
- ^ Bourgeois, JP (2005). "Brain synaptogenesis and epigenesis". Médecine/Sciences 21 (4): 428–33. doi:10.1051/medsci/2005214428. PMID 15811309.
- ^ Childhood Experience and the Expression of Genetic Potential: What childhood neglect tells about nature versus nurture. Perry, BD. (2002)Article[dead link]
- ^ "NIMH · Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Research Fact Sheet". National Institutes of Health.
- ^ Dubner, AE; Motta, RW (1999). "Sexually and physically abused foster care children and posttraumatic stress disorder". Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 67 (3): 367–73. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.67.3.367. PMID 10369057.
- ^ Casey Family Programs, Harvard Medical School (2005.04.05). "Former Foster Children in Oregon and Washington Suffer Posttraumatic Stress Disorder at Twice the Rate of U.S War Veterans"Jimcaseyyouth.org[dead link]. Retrieved 2010.03.23.
- ^ Cook, Rebecca (2005-04-07). "One in four foster children suffers from post-traumatic stress, study finds". Seattletimes.nwsource.com. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ Hadfield, SC; Preece, PM (2008). "Obesity in looked after children: is foster care protective from the dangers of obesity?". Child: care, health and development 34 (6): 710–2. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2214.2008.00874.x. PMID 18959567.
- ^ "Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study". Research.casey.org. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ "Throwaway kids". Pasadena Weekly. 2006-06-22. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ "Saving foster kids from the streets / As the nation faces a new wave of homeless children, Larkin youth center helps provide a transition to adulthood". Sfgate.com. 2004-04-11. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ Current Controversies: Issues in Adoption. Ed. William Dudley. Publisher: Greenhaven Press; 1 edition (December 19, 2003) Language: English ISBN 0-7377-1626-6 ISBN 978-0-7377-1626-9
- ^ Lopez, P; Allen, PJ (2007). "Addressing the health needs of adolescents transitioning out of foster care". Pediatric nursing 33 (4): 345–55. PMID 17907736.
- ^ V.Roman, N.P. & Wolfe, N. (1995). Web of failure: The relationship between foster care and homelessness. Washington, DC: National Alliance to End Homelessness.
- ^ "80 Percent Failure A Brief Analysis of the Casey Family Programs Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study". Nccpr.info. 2005-04-07. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ Web of Failure: The Relationship Between Foster Care and Homelessness, Nan P. Roman, Phyllis Wolfe, National Alliance to End Homelessness
- ^ Charles, G; Matheson, J (1991). "Suicide prevention and intervention with young people in foster care in Canada". Child welfare 70 (2): 185–91. PMID 2036873.
- ^ "Improving Outcomes for Older Youth" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ Vinnerljung, B; Hjern, A; Lindblad, F (2006). "Suicide attempts and severe psychiatric morbidity among former child welfare clients—a national cohort study". Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines 47 (7): 723–33. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2005.01530.x. PMID 16790007.
- ^ Barth, R; Blackwell, Debra L. (1998). "Death rates among California's foster care and former foster care populations". Children and Youth Services Review 20 (7): 577–604. doi:10.1016/S0190-7409(98)00027-9.
- ^ Kalland, M; Pensola, TH; Meriläinen, J; Sinkkonen, J (2001). "Mortality in children registered in the Finnish child welfare registry: population based study". BMJ (Clinical research ed.) 323 (7306): 207–8. doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7306.207. PMC 35273. PMID 11473912.
- ^ a b "The Corrupt Business of Child Protective Services – report by Senator Nancy Schaefer, September 25, 2008".
- ^ a b "Findings from the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study".
- ^ Zito, JM; Safer, DJ; Sai, D; Gardner, JF; Thomas, D; Coombes, P; Dubowski, M; Mendez-Lewis, M (2008). "Psychotropic medication patterns among youth in foster care". Pediatrics 121 (1): e157–63. doi:10.1542/peds.2007-0212. PMID 18166534.
- ^ Cascade, EF; Kalali, AH (2008). "Generic Penetration of the SSRI Market". Psychiatry (Edgmont (Pa. : Township)) 5 (4): 25–6. PMC 2719553. PMID 19727306.
- ^ Racusin R, Maerlender AC Jr, Sengupta A, et al. Psychosocial treatment of children in foster care: a review. Community Ment Health J. 2005 Apr;41(2):199-221. PMID 15974499
- ^ Johansen-Berg, H (2007). "Structural plasticity: rewiring the brain". Current biology : CB 17 (4): R141–4. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2006.12.022. PMID 17307051.
- ^ Duffau, H (2006). "Brain plasticity: from pathophysiological mechanisms to therapeutic applications". Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 13 (9): 885–97. doi:10.1016/j.jocn.2005.11.045. PMID 17049865.
- ^ Holtmaat, A; Svoboda, K (2009). "Experience-dependent structural synaptic plasticity in the mammalian brain". Nature reviews. Neuroscience 10 (9): 647–58. doi:10.1038/nrn2699. PMID 19693029.
- ^ Ge, S; Sailor, KA; Ming, GL; Song, H (2008). "Synaptic integration and plasticity of new neurons in the adult hippocampus". The Journal of physiology 586 (16): 3759–65. doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2008.155655. PMC 2538931. PMID 18499723.
- ^ Becker-Weidman, A., & Shell, D., (Eds.) Creating Capacity for Attachment, Oklahoma City, OK: Wood N Barnes, 2005/2009/2011
- ^ Becker-Weidman, A., Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy: Essential Methods & Practices, Jason Aronson, Lanham, MD, 2010
- ^ Hughes, D., Attachment Focused Family Therapy, Norton: NY, 2009
- ^ George, S, N van Oudenhoven, and R Wazir. "Foster Care Beyond The Crossroads: Lessons From An International Comparative Analysis." Childhood 10.3 (2003): 343-361. CINAHL with Full Text. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
- ^ http://www.hhs.gov/
- ^ http://www.childwelfare.gov/adoption/foster/
- ^ "Foster care statistics 2010". U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Children's Bureau. Retrieved 2012-06-17.
- ^ http://www.davethomasfoundation.org/
- ^ Bones Season 4 TOP 10 Most Shocking Moments[dead link]
- ^ Secret Life Of The American Teenager Margaret[dead link]
- ^ "The Leverage Team – Parker's Biography". Tnt.tv. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ "The Leverage Team – Alec Hardison's Biography". Tnt.tv. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
- ^ "Foster to Famous". Fosterclub.com. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
External links [edit]
- The impact of foster care on development [3]
- Effects of early psychosocial deprivation on the development of memory and executive function [4]
- Enduring neurobehavioral effects of early life trauma mediated through learning and corticosterone suppression [5]
Further reading [edit]
- Hurley, Kendra (2002). "Almost Home" Retrieved June 27, 2006.
- Carlson, E.A. (1998). "A prospective longitudinal study of disorganized/disoriented attachment". Child Development 69 (4): 1107–1128. PMID 9768489.
- Knowlton, Paul E. (2001). "The Original Foster Care Survival Guide"; A first person account directed to successfully aging out of foster care.
- McCutcheon, James, 2010. "Historical Analysis and Contemporary Assessment of Foster Care in Texas: Perceptions of Social Workers in a Private, Non-Profit Foster Care Agency". Applied Research Projects. Texas State University Paper 332.
External links [edit]
- The Mental Health of Children in Out-of-Home Care: Scale and Complexity of Mental Health Problems
- Effects of Enhanced Foster Care on the Long-term Physical and Mental Health of Foster Care Alumni
- Resource Site for Foster Parents


text:
- MIDI Lab
- Recording Studio
- Austin and Heaton Performance Hall
- Byrum Hall
- Park Place Church of God
- Reardon Auditorium
- York Performance Hall and Galleries
MIDI Lab
The Anderson University MIDI Lab houses 16 individual workstations, each equipped with a Windows-based PC and a Kawai MP5 keyboard connected to a Mackie mixing console, enabling the instructor to monitor students individually either through headphones or speakers. All workstation computers are connected to the university network as well, enabling student and instructor file sharing, as well as printing on an HP LaserJet printer.
The software available in the MIDI Lab includes:
- Sibelius (music notation)
- Pro Tools (audio and MIDI sequencing)
- Neuratron Photoscore (music scanning)
- Amazing Slow Downer (transcription tool)
- Sonar 6 (pro audio and MIDI sequencing)
- Band-in-a-Box Pro (songwriting and improvisation)
- Home Concert 2000 (piano practice)
- Musition (music fundamentals)
- Auralia (ear training)
- Adobe Photoshop Elements (imaging)
- NetOP (lab management)
Recording Studio
The Anderson University Recording Studio is a digital hard disk recording studio with a Digidesign C|24 control surface, a ProTools HD native system, and Genelec studio monitor speakers. The control room is situated above one of the main rehearsal/recital spaces in the Fine Arts Building and is able to record up to 24 inputs from this room.
Adjacent to the control room upstairs are two smaller recording rooms in which smaller projects can be recorded. The primary purposes of this facility are to record student, faculty and ensemble performances for the music department and projects related to the music business program. Full-time AU students working on projects for music classes are able to use this facility free of charge, while others may use the facility for a nominal hourly rate.
Austin and Heaton Performance Hall
Austin and Heaton Performance Halls, located in the Krannert Fine Arts Center on the campus of Anderson University, serve as the main recital halls for student and faculty voice, instrumental, piano, and chamber ensemble recitals as well as rehearsal halls for major music department ensembles. The performance halls are equipped with Steinway and Yamaha grand pianos, and are tailored to meet the distinct acoustic needs of both vocal and instrumental performances. Sound recording from the Anderson University Recording Studio is possible in both Austin and Heaton Performance Halls, thus providing high quality, state of the art recordings of all recitals and performances.
TopByrum Hall
Byrum Hall, adjacent to the Fine Arts Building, is the oldest building on campus. Originally constructed as the Tabernacle for the annual Church of God Camp Meeting, it is now the center of Drama activities. The theater, seating 550, is now the setting for many drama, opera, and musical productions on campus.
TopPark Place Church of God
Park Place Church of God has had a long association with Anderson University, due to its close proximity. The Music Department of Anderson University was housed in Park Place Church until the completion of the Fine Arts Building in 1979. There are several music department events held in the sanctuary every year which include: Music Awards Night, University Choir and Women's Chorus concerts, Chorale Spring Tour Concert, and organ recitals. Organ students have lessons and can practice on the pipe organ.
Park Place Church of God has the finest pipe organ in the area, built by Casavant Freres, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada in May of 1960. Casavant is a leading name in organ builders and has designed and constructed organs in Canada and North America for more than a hundred years. The pipe organ was designed in cooperation with the church's organ study committee, and offers excellent resources for the varied services of the church and for concert performances. In 1993, a major organ restoration and renovation project was completed by Goulding and Wood, Inc., of Indianapolis. The organ console consists of three manuals (keyboards), together with the pedalboard, and controls the sounding of 60 ranks of more than 3,368 pipes in five divisions. These pipes vary in length from one inch to sixteen feet. The combination action with 32 levels of memory includes: twelve general pistons, eight pistons on each manual, one fixed crescendo, three adjustable crescendos, and two adjustable sforzandos. The console can be moved so that it is more visible for organ concerts. Many world famous organists, including Virgil Fox and Dianne Bish, have given concerts on this organ.Top
Reardon Auditorium
With seating for more than 2,200, modern audio and communication technology, and fully equipped dressing rooms, Reardon is the campus' largest performance hall. Many choir and ensemble concerts are held here. Including the annual production of Candles and Carols, which is broadcast around the world.


text:
Lewis lashes out at land use groups
Oct 20, 2012 | 5 Comments
By Nathalie Hardy
Of the News-Register
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Made me laugh, thank you!
"But Lewis didn't take kindly to threats of litigation as an inducement for the city and county to let the advocacy groups dictate term"
What else does the people have when those elected seem to only respond to special interest themselves and not the majority?
What America really needs to understand is the consequences of their votes, we see it all the time, especially on a Federal level. We see someone vote Democrat then complain, vote Republican then complain. Not smart enough to realize the problem is both parties those interest that finance them. I've seen it on city and county issues (especially in Seattle and King County) when I lived there.
The only voice left for citizens is lawsuits (sadly).. But that is reality.
Troy Prouty*
• Reported tornado rips off roof in McMinnville (10791)
• Made in the Yamhill Valley (9535)
• Weather Service confirms tornado in McMinnville (4804)
• Two injured in Wallace Road motorcycle crash (2877)
• 'We have a blast' (2849)
• McMinnville man arrested on drug charges (2570)
• Robber became VP of bank he robbed (2434)
• Oregon Senate passes bill regulating police drones (2066)
• Here's to fixing 'fishhook' at south end of bypass project (1656)
• At the altar, one journey ends and another begins (30)
• Letters to the Editor - June 7, 2013 (2)
• Letters to the Editor - June 14, 2013 (2)
• Oregon Senate passes bill regulating police drones (1)
• Robber became VP of bank he robbed (1)
• Here's to fixing 'fishhook' at south end of bypass project (1)
• Parents question immersion program changes (1)


text:
World's Wackiest Cruises
Whether you're into knitting, vampires, or even just general nudity … chances are, there's a wacky theme cruise for you.
Filed under:Please forgive us, this gallery is really popular.
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text:
Problems submitting a new Project to the Marketplace
Posted 26 April 2012 - 02:31 AM
I am currently trying to submit an ODA Driver I created to the marketplace. Unfortunately I can't get passed step 2 "General App Info" because the Website requires me to provide an image. Unfortunately no matter what Image I select, I allways get a ""Application Icon" link is an invalid url" Error which prevents me from continuing.
I am trying to submit the driver on a Windows 7 Machine and have tried Chrome and the latest InternetExplorer, but I have the same error on both browsers :-(
Help greatly appreciated.
Posted 27 April 2012 - 08:41 AM
I'm sorry you're running into trouble. What is the size and filename extension you're using for the image? Not all formats are supported.
Ray Gans
Community Manager
BIRT Exchange
Community Manager, BIRT Exchange
Actuate Corporation – The BIRT Company™
http://www.actuate.com | http://www.birt-exchange.org
Posted 27 April 2012 - 08:43 AM
Posted 27 April 2012 - 08:53 AM
The link to my documentation is https://dev.c-ware.d...source+for+Birt (Containing a https Link) ... it seems that the Frontend doesn't like that. Nevertheless it was allways complaining about the Application Icon in the error message, but the error actually was the Application Documentation. I created a PDF from my documentation and used that instead and it worked.
Think this should be fixed as it's a pretty anoying bug in the UI ;-)


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Victorian Tiled Floor Cleaning & Restoration
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Tuesday, 10 July 2012
Lo-Carb Blog - using myself as a lab rat
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Where are all the AAA and PKI solutions gone for Dot1x
More Question than answers
(This series will be based on an enterprise with >20,000 dot1x devices)
I have been looking into dot1x authentication for Wired and Wireless devices based on device identity using x.509 Certificates. While I understand PKI, AAA, PEAP and sorts I had never really had the opertunity to bring these technologies together. I quickly found out that despite this stuff being around for years, it was difficult to answer the following questions:
- Which PKI solution should I use?
- Which AAA solution should I use?
- How to setup the PKI solution?
- Does the PKI server need to be part of AD?
- What if the clients are not in AD e.g. Wireless Tablets?
- How do I issue certificates for devices?
- How to configure the devices (wired and wireless)?
- What AAA server do I use?
- How do configure the rules and policies and identify clients?
What are the answers?
I am going to kick off a series here at networking-guru.net that tries to address the question above; I have limited time but hopefully I can invest some over the coming weekends and share my thoughts with you.
- Which PKI solution should I use?
- Which AAA solution should I use?
These two question were pretty frustrating and I cannot say I am fully satisfied with the answer I have at the moment. Here are some brief thoughts:
For PKI solution I found it really difficult to identify any enterprise type products. Realistically I could only find Microsoft Certificate Authority. There are a few popular opensource solutions which personally I find quite interesting but it would be a hard sell for many enterprise customers. The other option is to use a external managed solution but again a very hard sell into the enterprise.
For AAA (RADIUS) there are a few:
- Cisco ACS,
- Cisco ISE (new kid on the block)
- Juniper Steel Belted RADIUS
- Microsoft IAS (lol)
- FreeRADIUS
IAS and Free RADIUS are out off the bat, IAS because it is appalling, FreeRADIUS as its opensource and the mangeability is going to be tough for some of the less skill support desk staff that would inevatibilty have to support it.
Juniper Steel Belted - what I can tell from Juniper, it runs on Windows 2003 32bit, Sun Solaris or Redhat 4, all of these seem pretty long in the tooth and many enterprises are already running programmes to update these legacy systems so not really interesting in deploying legacy computing.
Cisco Alternatives - Cisco run on a Linux variant but it is fully hidden from the customer and is not a concern as any update will be within the maintenance cycle of the Cisco product and not with the OS vendor. This leave Cisco ACS or Cisco ISE. ISE appear to be is a coming together of various product based on ACS and NAC Profiler, one signification point is that there is no TACACS in the version 1 is the ISE product. I would expect at some future release to see TACACS be introduced into ISE and for ACS to grow old gracefully as there is total over lap on the RADIUS ability of both product.
ISE and Microsoft
So with that said putting cost aside ISE and Microsoft PKI is where I am going to take this series.
If you need a subnet calculator for you android devices then give this a try
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Subnet Master - Subnet Calculator for Android Released
I got around to creating a more stable version of my android subnet calculator with the limit removed from the csv file size.
Please enjoy and leave feedback on the market place.
Please enjoy and leave feedback on the market place.
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Subnet Master Demo for Android
I thought I would challenge myself to write a mobile app. I personally have an iPhone, but didn't want to invest in a MAC to develop an application and then having it rejected by apple. So I opted for and android based app. I had a look around at the subnet calculator market and though I could do a better job. So here is my effort
All the coding was done over a few weekends. There are still lot of refining required, but I feel it is ready for a beta release.
All the coding was done over a few weekends. There are still lot of refining required, but I feel it is ready for a beta release.
Monday, 17 October 2011
From IOS to Junos – JNCIA Result - PASS
I done the exam, and I am please to say I passed. So the lab-ing and the two PDFs
- JNCIA-Junos_SG_part_1_09-16-2010.pdf
- JNCIA-Junos_SG_part_2_09-16-2010.pdf
And a bit of surfing the web were enough. That is not to say everything in the exam was familiar, I did have to think seriously about some questions which puzzled me.
So the next step will be to go for specialist, but because of workload, it's going to take a little longer that 15 Days.
Monday, 10 October 2011
From IOS to Junos – Final Day – Part 5 (Services)
It's a Wrap
This is the last on this series, it has been hard work fitting in the time (very late evenings) and frustration trying to dump my notes into wordpress. I need to do more reading before the end of the week as I have booked the JNCIA-Junos exam. The start of the Journey has been interesting, and I hope to reach my first mile stone JNCIA-Junos, then I decide if I can go much further with the resource I have at my disposal.
Services and Users Part
I had some issues getting NTP synced on the last video, I eventually worked it out so here is the final installment.
Final word
That me finished this series, I hope people find to useful, I know I have found it of great value albeit a tiring one.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
From IOS to Junos – Final Day – Part 4 (BGP)
This serious show clearly how tiredness cause simple mistakes :)
Some Troubleshooting
Some Troubleshooting
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Beautiful rug, really adds an updated, funky look to my otherwise traditional looking living room. I chose this rug because its a pretty classic pattern and there are some really expensive designer chevron rugs that I love but won't spend the money on since I have twins, a dog, a cat and a husband. I think this rug will hold up to all of them! The rug is about .25" thick vs. the .75" stated on overstock but I am ok with this. It is also looped which I did not expect but like better!
I just received my rug and I love it! It's very comfy underfoot and the hand-hooked wool is very plush. I think this rug is well worth the price and would recommend it to anyone. My only complaint would be the color. I ordered the grey and to me, the online picture appeared to be a cloudy charcoal grey but when I received the rug, it looked to have a blueish undertone. I'm kind of disappointed about this but everything else abut the rug is so great I couldn't bring myself to return it. Just note if you order the grey, I don�t believe the online picture is very accurate. Overall, wonderful rug!
Love love love this rug! I've been known to do more than one happy dance when I glance at it from another room. Not only does it tie the room together (BL, anyone?) but the price for this size and style rug is fantastic. I've been looking for a very long time for a reasonably priced, large chevron rug and I never found one that compared. I do noticed that the edges are not as tightly sewn as I'd like but there are no significant problems. I'm curious as to how well it will hold up over time. The pattern is somehow not overwhelming and I think it feels nice on my feet. It vacuums well, which is a significant concern when you have a black cat and a golden retriever. Overall, I highly recommend this rug.
So, I really really want to love this rug and give it 5 stars, because it is beautiful and perfect for my living room. I love the way it looks and it is soft and the color is great (I got the green one). It seems thick and well made, BUT.... it came with the edges fraying, and a few spots in the middle are fraying. Overstock has the best customer service, really, and would have exchanged it, but that the rug is out of stock now :( I decided to keep it and try to trim the frayed parts, but I am nervous about how it's going to hold up, given that the edges have been fraying to begin with. I hope that that's the end of it, because I haven't found anything else that I like as much!
I love this rug! The navy color is neutral, but fun and the chevron stripes make it very trendy. It easily updated the look of my living room. The rug is not plush, but is soft underfoot and comfy to sit on. It doesn't shed too much on your clothes if you sit directly on it, but when I've vacuumed (which has only been 3 times), I pick up a lot of shedding. As long as the shedding ends up in the vacuum and not on my clothes I don't mind. I'm very happy with this rug!
I purchased this rug because I had a new baby at the time who was spending a lot of time on the floor and learning to crawl. I also wanted to brighten up the room a bit. I was happy when I received the rug and thought the description online was accurate (green and white). There were some imperfections and frayed fibers on the rug, but nothing that was too noticeable. My biggest problem is that the rug is shedding fibers. I thought this would get better over time because I vacuum it daily due to the baby and a dog in the house. It has been months and it's no better. Anytime you sit, lay, or play on the rug, as you would with an infant, you get covered with white fibers. Sorry to say, although I like how it looks, I regret purchasing this rug. We just moved and I don't even want to put it down.
The chevron rug is what it looks like and really nice. The bold colors make the pattern stand out and is more contemporary. The color, like other reviewers said, is more of a dark blue grey then dark grey. Overall, we are happy with the product!
Purchased the gray chevron area rug to use in our living room. The gray is just the right color - not too dark and not too light. Is very soft and gives the room a nice modern feel. Great buy for the money!
This rug is housed in my dining room and looks gorgeous. I would suggest not running the vacuum at the lowest level, because some of the loops did pull. I have not noticed much shedding. Very pleased with my choice!
I got the green shade. It's really very nice. I wish the off white can be changed to true white
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Marmot: Men's Orion Pant
Our Price: $145.00
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Color: 1428 Cinder / Black
Color: Black 001
Color: Dark Granite / Black
Caption: Back view in Gargoyle/Black
The Orion Pant is built for technical alpine pursuits. The water-repellent, breathable pant is made from Marmot M3 softshell fabric with reinforced, articulated knees and scuff guard at hem. Zippered hand and back pockets keep things secure en route.
- Marmot M3 Softshell
- Water Repellent and Breathable - Ideal for Aerobic Activity and Sheds Water
- Zippered Hand Pockets - For Convenience
- Articulated Knees - Design Feature to Reduce Excess Fabric and Improve Mobility
- Elastic Waist with Snap Closure and Zip Fly
- Removable Webbing Belt with Extra Thin Buckle
- Belt Loops - Are There In Case You Need Them
Weight: | 14.8 oz |


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How can you apply custom CSS to Google Calendar?
Can custom css be applied to a google calendar?
Thank you.On a per-user level: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/stylish/I need to apply custom css to an embedded google calendar in a website. (I didn't mention it was an embedded calendar on a website in first post.)
Can Stylish do that? Or is there another way(s)?No, because Google Calender is inside of an iFrame you can not modify it.Charlie, the sky is the limit with Google calender! I recently utilized it in a build here: http://www.orovalleybicycle.com
Notice the calendar on the right side of the page. That is the XML feed of a google calendar, parsed by a PHP script in to the format you see rendered. My implementation renders the data as an unordered list, with css style attached to different fields. A more ambitious developer could take that same XML feed and render it as a traditional month view calendar. Because I lacked the technical experience to develop this, I used a lightbox to open the google calendar within the page (see the expand full calendar link).
Let me know if I can be of further help.
CheersVery nice.
I've styled rss/xml feeds in WordPress using plugins, but never on a plain html/css website. Is there a tutorial page somewhere that would get me started?Charlie, my conclusions after researching calendars are the following:
1. Google Calendar is an optimal solution because it allows CMS usability and editing for the laymen. The caveat here is that there are traffic limitations with a calendar, so some kind of script would need to be written to cache the data on a schedule.
2. To me, an ideal implementation is something like this:
- The XML feed is decoded/processed by some kind of server side implementation like PHP.
- That data is piped in to a 7 column 4 row table which represents a month's worth of days.
- Day information is accessed by clicking or floating the cursor over the focus'ed day.
3. Customization would extend beyond what is possible with embedded iframe calendars, so that the calendar could be really small, and/or styled to better match the look & feel of your site for tighter integration.
I'll look in to some of the resources I found, but basically you'll want to search for documentation that has to do with:
- PHP to parse XML
- Parsing Google Calendar XML feeds
- How to format tabular/XML data in to a calendar like formatYou might want to take a look at http://sugi.github.com/jquery-gcal-flow/
Just be aware that if you use the method where you grab the contents of the iframe that the Google Calendar embed provides, that you are still at the mercy of the rendered HTML. If Google ever changes the CSS class names and/or HTML structure, then your code and styles may not work properly.
Other than that caveat, I like that method as a quick way to reuse all the integrated technology that Google has already programmed into their calendar UI.
Here is another similar post about how to do this, with some explanation of the various class names that are generated in the code.


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Locate Us
Want to talk to us in person? Need to drop off a payment? Have questions about Medicare? You can visit our service centers for all these things. We accept payments (personal, business or cashier's checks, or money orders) at all service centers except for Blue Care Network in Ann Arbor. Medicare representatives are available from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays (Monday, Wednesday, Friday only in Detroit). Just enter your ZIP below to get started. Have a question about a service center? Call the phone number on the back of your enrollee ID card and we'll help.


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Note: this is the second post in an 8-part series of tips designed to make you a better researcher. Click here to read the whole series.
"Reference books" are the dictionaries, encyclopedias, lexicons, atlases, concordances, etc. located in our libraries. And our reference books go far beyond the World Book Encyclopedia you may have used in elementary school!
Academic reference books are scholarly, detailed, and subject-specific. The beautiful thing about scholarly encyclopedias and dictionaries is that they can give you a quick, authoritative overview of your topic. Within a few minutes of locating an entry in a reference book, you'll have a broad understanding of the history, important people, and important research studies related to your topic.
Here's an example: this 3-page article about Alzheimer's disease from the Encyclopedia of Epidemiology (APU NetID and password required) was written by an expert on the topic. It quickly covers the history of Alzheimer's disease, describes diagnostic tools and treatment options, and even has a list of recommended books and articles on the subject. Once you've read the article, you'll have a great grasp on the topic, plus a list of sources to read. Even better, you'll have an idea of some key terms you can search for in the library catalog and article databases.
We have thousands of reference books in the libraries, and most of them are available in print. The easiest way to find them is to do a search in our library catalog for your broad topic (school psychology, the reformation, economics, sculpture, American poetry, ecology, etc.), limiting to the Reference collection.
In addition to our printed reference books, we have several databases that contain digitized encyclopedias and dictionaries. Often with an online reference book, you can do a keyword search for your topic and download a brief article about it without even leaving your desk–just like our Alzheimer's example above.
Finally, you can always ask a librarian for recommendations. We love to help you locate reference books, especially since it means we get to learn something new about your topic!
Tags: Academics, libraries, library research, research


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January seemed to be an extremely wet month, and for good reason, with a record amount of precipitation falling in Mount Airy.
A report from the city's F.G. Doggett Water Plant shows that nearly 10 inches drenched the area last month — 9.93 to be exact, which broke a 77-year-old record. In January 1936, 9.17 inches fell, which had stood as the all-time high for the first month of the year in Mount Airy.
Weather records have been kept here since 1924. Aside from the 1936 record, the next-highest total for January was noted in 1937 when 8.56 inches fell.
Last month's output was 6.53 inches, or 192.1 percent, above normal for January, when the average is 3.40 inches for Mount Airy.
Illustrating this domination was the fact that measurable precipitation was reported on 16 of January's 31 days, according to a breakdown from the water plant, the city's official weather-monitoring station.
The largest amount for a single day was 2.41 inches logged for Jan. 15. Although January tends to be most associated with snowfall where precipitation is concerned, only 0.2 inches of the white stuff was included among the total for the month.
In keeping with the typical wintry conditions, Mount Airy experienced eight days with frost and four with fog.
Temps Vary Widely
Mercury-wise, last month produced a high reading of 70 degrees on Jan. 14, while the monthly low of 13 came 10 days later.
Overall, it was a slightly warmer January than usual, averaging 39.6 degrees compared to the 38.3-degree figure that is the norm for Mount Airy.
The average high temperature this January was 50.3 degrees and the average low reading, 28.8.
Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Zachary Holly Faces First Court Date
By: Jay Dillon
Updated: November 29, 2012
Zachary Holly only said two words in open court: "Yes ma'am" after Judge Green issued a no-contact order between him and the Bridgeman family. The judge also ordered Holly be held without bond. We now know much more about why holly was arrested. According to the probable cause affidavit, on Monday night of last week, Zach Holly and his wife, Amanda, were baby-sitting jersey and her little sister while their mom was at work. Desarae Bridgeman picked up her kids at 11:00 p.m. They were asleep, so Holly carried Jersey home while Desarae carried her other little girl. Holly told investigators he went back home and woke up with an upset stomach around 3:30 that morning so he walked to the EZ Mart to get medicine and went back home. He denied having anything to do with Jersey's disappearance and provided DNA to investigators. This week, the state medical examiner's office revealed it found DNA on the girl's body, but the portion of the affidavit released to the media does not specify if that DNA matched Holly's. It does say that police then brought him in for questioning and he was arrested after he gave a statement to investigators.
Before appearing in court, Holly was actually attacked while behind bars. Authorities with the benton county jail say another inmate, Michael Moran, is responsible. They say the attack happened when a deputy was exchanging dirty clothes and towels for clean ones. When the deputy went to another cell, they say Moran struck Holly. Moran will now be charged with battery. Holly was not seriously injured.
A Sprindgale man accused of a similar crime has a court hearing scheduled for Thursday. 23-year-old Tremelle Overton was arrested in August after police found his 2-month-old stepson unresponsive and not breathing. The baby was taken to the hospital but died. Overton faces a charge with first degree murder. Prosecutors expect to set a new trial date for Overton at his hearing as the state crime lab is still working on the case. He remains in the Washington County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Fayetteville drivers take their first crack at the new roundabout at North Hills Boulevard and Futrall Drive. To to make sure it went smoothly, police were on hand to direct traffic. They say drivers simply need to look to the left before entering the roundabout, and once you're in the loop, you have the right-of-way, so don't stop at the entrance ramps. Drivers say it's still a bit confusing and will take some time to get used to.
Good news Twinkie fans , Hostess' future may not be so bleak after all, at least not if one Arkansas company has anything to say about it. A Pine Bluff company, Cookies & Sweets Bakery, filed a motion Monday to purchase Hostess Brands. The company says it has a northern headquarters in Detroit which would be the headquarters of Hostess Brands if they're successful. Cookies & Sweets was incorporated in Pine Bluff in February 2008. The company has not yet received a response on it's motion to buy the pastry company.
The rush of the holidays is here and if you want to make sure your gifts make it under the tree in time, here are a few dates you need to know. The last day to send an international package is December 11th. In the states, first class mail must be sent out by December 20th. For any of you procrastinators, December 22nd is pretty much it. That's the day express mail has to be sent to arrive by Christmas Day.
You better check your tickets, the Powerball drawing produced two winners Wednesday night, one from Missouri. The winning numbers were 5, 23, 16, 22, 29, and the Powerball was 6. One winner was from somewhere in Missouri and the other is in Arizona. But the exact location where each ticket was sold is not yet known.


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Encourage a love of reading from the time they're born! Whether you're introducing them to one of your childhood favorites or exploring new characters together, babies and toddlers love the bright colors, creative imagery and lively language of children's books for 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds.
Start a conversation now
Did you know that kids who watch or read Curious George receive significant gains in math and science knowledge?
A lyrical and unique memoir, from one of our finest writers, proving that life can be as strange as fiction.
Read More
For inquiries concerning bulk purchases for corporate use, sales incentives, or nonprofit sales, please email our Special Sales department at email@example.com
Houghton Mifflin encourages you to buy books from both online and local booksellers. For information about booksellers in your area, we recommend you visit Book Web's Bookstore Directory or use our search below. To order from an online bookstore, please click on the link of the online store below.
Note to Booksellers: If you are an online bookseller and wish to add or change your listing, please e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com.


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John Reed Weeks, 85, of Pomeroy, Ohio, passed away on Tuesday, October 16, 2012, at home following a long illness. He was born on August 4, 1927, in Pomeroy son of the late Eldon E. and Agnes M. Weeks. He was a graduate of Pomeroy High School and attended Ohio University.
A loving husband, father and grandfather, he is survived by his beloved wife of 64 years, Barbara A. "Scholl" Weeks; a son, Tom (Linda) Weeks of Dublin, Ohio; a daughter, Mary Beth (James) Horne of Obetz, Ohio; and four wonderful grandsons, John Christopher Horne, Joseph Reed Weeks, Matthew Horne and Jason Horne. An aunt, Rachel Jennings of Pomeroy, also survives him.
Mr. Weeks was a veteran of the United States Navy and served in the Pacific Theatre in World War II and in the Korean Conflict with the Seabees. He worked for the Columbus and Southern Ohio Electric Company for 30 years and was the Southern Division Manager upon his retirement. During his career there, he was a member and past president of the Columbus Chapter of the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).
He was a longtime member and past Commander of the Drew Webster Post #39 of the American Legion and a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He was a member of the Paramuthia Lodge #25 F. & A.M. of Athens. He was a member of the Trinity Congregational Church of Pomeroy.
The family will receive friends from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, October 19, at the Anderson McDaniel Funeral Home, with a memorial service officiated by Pastor Thomas Johnson to be held at 1 p.m. A private burial will follow.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the American Cancer Society or The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute in Columbus, Ohio.
A registry is available at www.andersonmcdaniel.com.


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One Harvard is a message to a University of many parts: Get up off your tub. Exit your silo. Share what you know. And it's happening.
Campus & Community
On Campus
A wide range of regional vendors participate in Harvard farmers markets in Allston and Cambridge.
Arts & Culture
Theater, Film & Dance
Diane Paulus, on her big night
In a question-and-answer session on Monday, A.R.T. director Diane Paulus discussed her revival of the musical "Pippin," which won four top honors at the Tony Awards.
Environments & Sustainability
Looking at chimp's future, seeing man's
The fate of chimpanzees in Africa is largely in the hands of increasing numbers of poor, rural dwellers crowding the primates' forest homes. That is why an educational project begun near Uganda's Kibale National Forest focuses on 14 schools teaching almost 10,000 children, researchers say.
National & World Affairs
Reflections on justice delayed
Harvard History Professor Caroline Elkins discusses last week's $30 million settlement in the long-running Mau Mau case, in which the British government apologized for colonial-era atrocities during Kenya's Mau Mau rebellion.
Multimedia Features
Financial Aid: A University-Wide Commitment | One Harvard
A glance at Harvard's University-wide commitment to financial aid, the foundation of Harvard's effort to attract the most qualified students across the nation and around the world


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- Story Ideas
- Send Corrections
By GEORGE OGORMAN
PRINCETON TWP. Sarah McNeilly didnt get to take the shot she was expecting to get with the final seconds ticking off last night.
A defensive switch by Northern Burlington from man-to-man to a 1-3-1 zone left McNeilly at the top of the key with only a 3-point attempt to take with 21 ticks left in the championship game of the Princeton Day School Holiday Tournament.
With tons of poise, West Windsor North junior McNeilly swished the trey to give her team its first lead and an eventual 34-31 upset of unbeaten Northern Burlington.
We were suppopsed to run our Knight play which we havent run yet this year, but since they were in a different defense we went to another option. I didnt really think about anything because those are the shots you practice for, said McNeilly, whose 3-pointer and two free throws with :05 to play capped a 12-1 closing run that enabled coach Bob Boyces squad to get its first win over an undefeated team after having lost earlier to Trenton, Hopewell Valley and Allentown when they were unbeaten.
For all but the final quarter it looked like the 3-3 Knights would fall to another unbeaten as they shot miserably, threw the ball away repeatedly and kept missing shots from low in the paint that Northern was able to rebound and ignite a fastbreak.
Thats one thing about my team, they wont quit, said Boyce. They may not be able to drop a stone in the ocean, but they wont quit.
The shot we got was the second option, but it wasnt supposed to be a 3-pointer except that they changed their defens, explained Boyce. Weve had a tough road, and it doesnt get any easier with Notre Dame up next. But these girls keep fighting all the way.
In the consolation game Pinelands dropped Princeton Days record to 4-4 as it led all the way for a 43-28 win as Mika Ryans squad played better than it had in the opening loss to Northern Burlington but still went 0-2 in is tournament.
Dolan 2-0-5, M.Rivera 4-1-9, Funk 1-0-2, K.Rivera 0-0-0, Coit 3-7-13, Montalvo 1-0-2, TOTALS: 11-8-31
Sugar 1-3-5, Carson 3-2-9, McNeilly 2-4-9, Schwarzman 2-2-6, Foster 1-1-3, Tampellini 1-0-2, Magid 0-0-0, Tatulli 0-0-0. TOTALS: 10-12-34
Northern Burlington (5-1) 10 9 7 5 31
West Windsor North (3-3) 6 7 8 13 34
3-pt,. goals: NB-Dolan; WWN-McNeilly, Carson.
* * * * *
Kidd 2-1-5, Kline 2-2-7, Macneil 2-0-4, Melo 4-6-16, Dewey 2-1-5, Herbert 1-0-2, Wilson 0-1-1, Hartman 2-0-4. TOTALS: 16-9-43
Goldman 1-1-3, Johnson 3-1-7, Kumar 0-0-0, Levitan 0-0-0, Levy 3-0-6, Murray 1-1-3, Okorodudu 3-0-6, VanLiew 1-1-3, Zahn 0-0-0. TOTALS: 12-4-28
Pinelands 11 17 8 7 43
Princeton Day (4-4) 7 9 2 10 28
3-pt. goals: P-Kline, Melo 2.


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I want to know because they are impossible for me to catch. By the time I feel like I can catch them they use struggle and faint.
Yes, just defeat the Elite Four. They will reappear.
You have to defeat the elite four again.
Source: http://www.supercheats.com/nintendods/questions/pokemondiamond/188368/If-you-defeat-mesprit-azelf.htm and experience.
How to change your username How to add a user avatar Why was my post hidden? The points system Question etiquette Flags vs Downvotes Anime FAQ
Type a Pokemon name, type, move or ability to see instant results.


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