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Surgery day was hard. As hard as I thought it would be. Last night on preop day I managed to get our Christmas tree down and then fell into an exhausted sleep around 9pm. At 5:30am the alarm went off and it was time to drag myself out of bed and start hurriedly getting ready for the day. Since we had fallen asleep so early we had not managed to pack our things nor given Julian a disinfecting bath using special sponges from the hospital. So the first order of business was waking Julian and getting him bathed. Next was packing between mouthfuls of cereal. But after forgetting only a handful of things we were off in record time and headed into Boston by 6:30. On the way in Julian let loose a hacking cough that he had acquired a couple days ago. It sounded as bad as ever. Would he be able to have surgery today?
At admitting we saw a room full of anxious parents clutching their small children and awaiting their turns for vital sign checks. Gretchen popped off to get some breakfast since she did not have a chance to eat before leaving and sure enough, as soon as she stepped out, Julian and I got called in for an initial checkup. The nurses listened to his chest and discussed the raspiness of his lungs, but in the end determined that it was upper respiratory and would not stop the surgery. But then they couldn't get a good blood saturation level to come through because Julian kept wiggling. He was hungry after not eating since 8pm the night before. I wish I had woken up at 4am and given him some pedialyte. His blood saturation was hovering around 85% and had the nurses concerned. Dad to the rescue. I scooped Julian up and snuggled him into the nook on my neck that he loves so much. Instantly he calmed down and the nurses got an accurate reading of 94%.
After some more waiting we rode the elevator with two other families to the surgical floor. We stepped into the pod 7 holding area on the third floor of Children's Boston and each family was ushered off into a curtained room. Here we took turns holding Julian and he was a bundle of joy. Waving his arms in the air, cooing and enjoying himself. Nurses discussed the procedures again with us and anesthesiology gave us another review. The best part was that Dr. Emani took the time to come down and speak with us. He did not look tired at all from his work the previous day, but he was all business. He ran through the procedure, which we had already heard many times before, and I suspect he then headed off to prep for surgery. Moments later our time was up. Julian was so well behaved that the nurses decided that he didn't need to be sedated before leaving us. We bundled him into a warm blanket and he looked back at us with his big eyes and we said goodbye. And just like that the nurse turned around and walked away with him.
The waiting is the worst. I was so stressed. Except for my wife, everything anyone did bothered me. She had learned over the years what to do and say when I get overloaded. Joking about stuff bothered me, talking about the surgery bothered me, asking me if I wanted food bothered me. We walked to a nice waiting area filled with families awaiting the outcomes of their children's surgeries. Here I sat in my chair and did my Facebook status updates and wrote a couple blog articles on the surgery. The writing filled the timeless void between Julian leaving us and periodic updates we received from the nursing staff. The updates were crucial, critical and so very much appreciated. I can't imagine agonizing through the entire ordeal without knowing that he had successfully been sedated, successfully incised and moved to a heart lung machine. Each Facebook status update I posted would immediately begin blipping with activity. Words of encouragement and 'likes' coming through. I have never been a big Facebook status update person, but this is one case where I loved it. In real time I could see how many people were anxiously awaiting Julian's progress.
When Dr. Emani finally appeared I didn't know what to do with myself. Here was the man who had just stitched my son's heart back together. The news was all good. Julian's heart was beating on its own, blood flow was great and there were no conduction issues. I don't even remember what he said. I don't remember whether I thanked him or not. The whole group of us, Gretchen, my mother, my aunt Carol, my in-laws were all quiet. After Dr. Emani left I hugged Gretchen and both of us kind of fell apart. I was so scared that Julian was going to die. That he would be a still and lifeless corpse on an operating table with his chest cut open wide and a dead heart inside. Without a doubt the worst part was the waiting. Afterwards my emotions flooded out and in their wake I was whole again. Reinvigorated and anxious to see Julian in the recovery room.
The recovery room was not nearly as scary as I thought it would be. You hear that he will be hooked up to a million machines and have tubes coming out of everywhere, and indeed he did. But you don't care. All you care about is that the surgery was a success and that he is okay and that he will be okay. I took my finger and slid it into the palm of Julian's one hand that wasn't covered with iv's or tubes. I did not expect the cold and lifeless flesh against mine. I reached out with my other hand to stroke his hair and couldn't help but feel that it would be coarse and hard like straw. But as my fingers ran through his fine silky threads I knew it was him. As his body regained its normal pre-operative temperature his body would regain its vibrance. Julian was on pain medication, sedation medication and paralytic medication. So Julian could not move, theoretically could not feel pain and was asleep. We set up his crib with stuffed animals, blankies and his favorite singing seahorse that lulls him to bed every night. And with that our big day was done. A friend very thoughtfully called Bertucci's across the street and prepaid for our dinner. All we had to do was show up and the manager came over to make sure it was us. She personally served us our meals (very quickly) and overall it was a great experience.
My brother Terry dropped in to say hi and drop off some things we had forgotten at home. As I explained how great everything was going medically I didn't even notice that Terry had tears in his eyes until I turned around. I gave him a hug and it dawned on me that after such a big day I failed to realize all the emotion those who love us must have been going through. I had my moment to release all my tensions, to shed tears and to embrace the future, but others who love Julian maybe hadn't. All those dozens of people sitting around their computer screens hitting the refresh button and anxiously awaiting the next status update must have had a collective sigh of relief and maybe even a shed a few tears when the good news finally came through. Here are those status messages again for all those who anxiously awaited them.
- 7:30 am – Waiting at inpatient admitting. Thank you for all the well wishes everyone!
- 8:30 am – We have moved up to the surgery holding area. Julian is waiting for the sedation team.
- 9:00 am – They took Julian away for the operation a few moments ago. We are now in the family waiting area. We are supposed to get updates from the nurses every ninety minutes or so. There were definitely tears shed as we watched them walk away with Julian bundled up in a warm blanket.
- 10:15 am – The nurse just gave us our first update. Julian has been sedated, had all his lines inserted and had his chest opened. All is well so far.
- 10:45 am – Julian has been successfully moved to a heart lung machine.
- 12:00 pm- Things are progressing. The surgeon is finishing up his work and they will start testing the effectiveness of the repair.
- 12:45 pm – Dr. Emani just came down and let us know that the surgery was a success. Julian's heart is beating on its own and there are no conduction issues. In the next ninety minutes he will be transferred to ICU where we can see him.


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A crop of American cockroaches brings in serious cash.
According to a statement from Republic Services, trash collection will resume for city of Toledo residents on Wednesday. Trash will be collected on a one day delay for the rest of the week, meaning residents who normally have trash collected on Tuesday will see their trash picked up on Wednesday, and so on throughout the week.
Recycling services will not resume until Republic is back to full staff, the statement said.
According to Republic GM Dave Vossmer the company plans to use replacement workers should members of Teamsters Local 20 not report for work. If Local 20 workers come to work they will handle the trash collection, if not the replacements will go into action.
Trash collection had been delayed due to a work stoppage initiated by unionized workers. The stoppage is centered in Youngstown, where workers with Teamsters Local 377 have been without a contract since October. The union is trying to put pressure on the company by expanding the work stoppage and picket line to Toledo.
Representatives of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' say their actions are also meant to put pressure on Republic not to leave the Central States Pension Fund.
"Until we started bargaining several months ago to exit the Central States Pension Fund, we almost never had a dispute with the Teamsters, much less the ongoing picketing and work stoppage activity. This has all started in recent weeks to put additional pressure on us now that we have exited from Central States in five locations," said Holly Georgell, senior director of Labor Relations for Republic Services, in a statement. "We have repeatedly asked the Teamsters to explain the basis for their strike and picketing activity and the response is vague, unsupported statements about alleged unfair labor practices."
Republic Services has filed unfair labor practice charges against Local 377 in Youngstown for what it is calling "an unlawful scheme to evade good-faith contract negotiations."
Officials say they will consider the same in Toledo.
Just after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Republic announced that trash collection would go forward Wednesday.
"Trash pick-up for City of Toledo residents will resume tomorrow (April 17). We will be running one day behind our normally scheduled collections. For example: If Wednesday is your normal trash day, it will be collected Thursday of this week," said Paul Rasmusson, Republic Services Division sales manager. "Our priority will continue to be trash pick-up. Recycling services will resume when Republic has sufficient staff on board."
Copyright 2013 Toledo News Now. All rights reserved.
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Toledo, OH 43604
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By Jonathan Groner and Jim Hassett, LegalBizDev
In a recent survey, ALM Legal Intelligence found that 62 percent of law firms had increased their use of alternative fee arrangements (AFAs) in the last year, and their top reason by far (91 percent of 194 firms) was to "attract and maintain clients."
While some firms are just starting down this path, others have been using AFAs to develop new business for quite a while. According to Peter Kalis, the chairman and managing partner of K&L Gates, a global firm with nearly 2,000 lawyers, "We have offered alternative fees for more than 20 years . . . . We were dragged there kicking and screaming by a few key clients who led this trend, including DuPont and United Technologies. We found to our amazement that it was a really good way to do business, both for us and for the client."
Adams and Reese, a firm with 13 offices throughout the southern United States, began offering AFAs for the same reason. The firm encountered several situations "where we wouldn't get the work unless we agreed to a flat fee or fixed fee," according to firmwide managing partner Chuck Adams. For example, "We work with one global company that requires standard trademark and patent services in a number of foreign countries, and we do all of their intellectual property work for a flat fee. We trust them, at their full discretion, to pay us a bonus at the end of each year if they think they're getting value. The agreement gets renewed every year, and they do treat us fairly."
In addition, Adams says, "we have relationships with some companies that have a large number of fairly similar transactions. We represent entities that buy hundreds of thousands of acres of timberland and they have a volume of fairly similar sales of smaller parcels. When there's a closing, it becomes pretty much a commodity, a fairly standard transaction. We have arrangements with a number of clients like this to handle things on a pure flat fee arrangement." These types of arrangements work best when one "has a good prior relationship with a client. We understand how they do business and what they need, and are therefore able to price it in a reasonable way."
Joseph E. Mais, firmwide chair of commercial litigation at Perkins Coie, a firm with over 850 lawyers in 19 offices in the US and Asia, made a similar point in discussing his firm's approach to AFAs: "They require a fair amount of trust. They also require significant knowledge of the client's business to be priced and staffed appropriately." For this reason, Mais says, it's easier to offer AFAs to existing clients when there is a mutual understanding than to new clients who are unknown.
Like K&L Gates and Adams and Reese, Perkins Coie first started offering AFAs due to client demands. In fact, Mais identified two categories of work in which "if we weren't prepared to offer AFAs, we wouldn't be getting hired for a significant portion of the work" – the representation of policyholders in insurance coverage work, and patent work in which the firm represents defendants who are sued by non-practicing entities. The coverage work is generally done on a partial contingent fee basis – a monthly rate with a success fee. In the patent sphere, says Mais, "the predominant AFA model is a fee cap, hopefully coupled with success fees."
In some cases, AFAs have also proven useful in attracting new clients. For example: "In multi-party cases, one or more defendants might seek to join forces with a longstanding client, where everyone believes there can be efficiency in having a single law firm dealing with common issues. Here, we have had a fair amount of success bringing in new clients on an alternative fee basis when they weren't our primary relationship at the start."
At Crowell & Moring, a firm with nearly 500 lawyers in eight offices, Kathy Kirmayer, chair of the D.C. litigation group and a member of the firm's finance and AFAs committees, notes, "We have been using AFAs for more than a decade and don't view them as 'alternative' because we think they provide value that far exceeds just the bottom line." The firm has refined another innovative technique for using AFAs to bring in new clients with a type of antitrust proposal that is unusual for a large corporate firm.
When a corporation pleads guilty to some sort of antitrust violation, Kirmayer says, Crowell & Moring lawyers often identify not only firm clients that have purchased significant amounts of the product that has been subject to price-fixing or similar conduct, but sometimes companies new to the firm as well. Those purchasers will usually have the right to sue the antitrust violator for money damages, and verdicts or settlements can run into the tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.
Crowell & Moring's "recovery practice" represents purchasers for a contingent fee – a percentage of the amount it is able to recover for the client. This has been very appealing for new clients of the firm, Kirmayer says, and several clients that established their relationship for this type of work later have grown their relationship with the firm in other practice areas for work on non-contingency matters.
This practice started more than a decade ago when some existing corporate clients sought counsel from the firm, saying they had been victimized by antitrust conspiracies, and asked the firm to represent them. Then Crowell & Moring expanded the practice to serve existing clients and to cultivate new ones, which it sees as an investment in the future.
"We are really in this in order solve the immediate problem for the client and then to develop them into institutional clients of the firm," Kirmayer says. "We want to demonstrate what kind of lawyers we are, beyond these antitrust cases." Although antitrust is the core of the recovery practice, Kirmayer says Crowell & Moring has expanded it for trade and customs duty cases, intellectual property, and tax matters as well.
Jonathan Cooper, a partner at the Cleveland office of Tucker Ellis, also reports that AFAs have been an excellent way to attract new business for his firm.
One technique that Tucker Ellis has used is to bill a fixed sum on a quarterly or monthly basis for all legal work of a given nature such as tort defense or employment litigation. These arrangements often include a risk collar. If the actual hourly cost proves to be less than the agreed upon fee, the client and the firm split the savings 50/50. If the actual hourly cost exceeds the fixed price, the client pays half of the overage, and the firm pays the other half. "This mitigates both risk and reward and provides incentives and openness between the lawyer and the client," Cooper says.
For example, Tucker Ellis used this type of arrangement to get some mass tort work from one large state by agreeing to a fixed quarterly payment with a risk collar. "The client's associate general counsel was dissatisfied with her previous law firm because of uncertainty about the fees," Cooper recalls. "She loved this new approach. Many clients think lawyers are just trying to bill as much as possible to rip them off, and this clearly wasn't the case with us."
In another type of arrangement, Tucker Ellis approached a client that had been on the wrong side of a multi-million dollar verdict, and asked to handle the appeal in exchange for a percentage of the amount that the client would save if the appeal were successful. "This worked well. We thought there was a high chance of winning the appeal. The client got a top-flight appellate lawyer, and the incentive was running the client's way," Cooper says.
At Warner Norcross, senior partner J.A. Cragwall Jr. has found that AFAs have been equally attractive to their clients. In one case, the Michigan firm was competing for a large chunk of national business litigation for a Fortune 500 manufacturer. Also in the running, Cragwall says, were other major firms from money centers such as New York, Chicago, Cleveland, and Milwaukee.
Cragwall reports that Warner Norcross was able to get the work, and develop an ongoing relationship with this major company, by "working up a budget, and then proposing to bill the client for a portion of the budget each month." If the matter were resolved earlier than planned, the law firm would split the savings with the client. That way, Cragwall says, "the client may get a surprise, but it's a good surprise."
This particular client, Cragwall explained, felt that the best way to get a handle on spiraling legal costs was to "control cycle time – the time that it takes to finish a matter." The firm's alternative fee proposal responded directly to that concern.
At the Jackson, Mississippi, office of Butler Snow, partner Charles Johnson III says alternative fees "have become a standard way of doing business for us. We have some clients who prefer hourly billing, but more and more of our clients want and expect predictability."
Johnson says that in the past five years, for example, Butler Snow has begun to do all the nationwide product liability work for a global top 20 pharmaceutical firm by offering alternative fees. In addition, the firm has been able to land a considerable amount of transactional and contract review work for that client by using its experience to accurately estimate how much time each task will take.
"For these deals, we are now able to offer a fixed fee for due diligence and advance work, another fixed fee for the drafting and negotiating process until closing, and another fixed fee for closing and post-closing work," Johnson says.
All of the firms described in this article, and many others, have found that AFAs can help bring in new business.
Some firms aggressively promote AFAs. Others, like K&L Gates, describe their approach as "agnostic." According to chairman Peter Kalis, "For some clients, it's a requirement to use AFAs. For others, it's an arrow in our marketing quiver. We shoot it a lot, and some clients duck and others welcome it . . . . We're happy to offer AFAs and happy to go hourly . . . . We truly don't have a preference . . . . Our historical client base consists of extraordinarily sophisticated consumers of legal services. When they are able to engage in an informed dialogue with a provider of legal services on a subject near and dear to them, that is always a positive step in the relationship."
In general, Kalis says that the AFA movement has been "a healthy development in our profession. I think it's a sign of the maturation of the industry, that law firms and clients are having more informed discussions about the cost of legal services than they did ten years ago."
In addition, "AFAs are a great tool for helping law firms meet client needs in a way that furthers the relationship," according to Chuck Adams of Adams and Reese. "But the most successful ones develop from existing client relationships because clients and lawyers must be in synch. It is critical to understand clients' expectations, their philosophical approach. Do they want to turn over every rock, for example, or just the basics? Lawyers can eliminate inefficiency, and staff and price AFAs best when they understand this and there is a relationship of mutual trust."
"It can be complicated to work these things out," according to Perkins Coie's Mais. "But my guess is that AFAs will grow as big companies continue to converge on using fewer law firms and developing deeper relationships with their lawyers."
The 194 law firms in the ALM Legal Intelligence survey agree: 82 percent expect the volume of AFAs to increase over the next five years.
To assure that this trend works out for both clients and their firms, Mais says: "The most important core principle for AFA success is to align the firm's interest with the client's interest."
Jim Hassett is the founder of LegalBizDev (www.legalbizdev.com), which helps law firms increase profitability by improving project management, pricing, and business development. Jim is the author of 10 books, including The Legal Project Management Quick Reference Guide and The Legal Business Development Quick Reference Guide. He is a frequent speaker at law firms and at bar associations, including the New York City Bar, the New York State Bar, and the Massachusetts Bar.
Jonathan Groner is a public relations specialist, a freelance writer, and a lawyer. He has previously worked as a Marketing Manager at Jenner & Block, as Senior Communications Counsel at Womble Carlyle, and as Managing Editor at Legal Times.
This document and any discussions set forth herein are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as legal advice, which has to be addressed to particular facts and circumstances involved in any given situation. Review or use of the document and any discussions does not create an attorney-client relationship with the author or publisher. To the extent that this document may contain suggested provisions, they will require modification to suit a particular transaction, jurisdiction or situation. Please consult with an attorney with the appropriate level of experience if you have any questions. Any tax information contained in the document or discussions is not intended to be used, and cannot be used, for purposes of avoiding penalties imposed under the United States Internal Revenue Code. Any opinions expressed are those of the author. The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. and its affiliated entities do not take responsibility for the content in this document or discussions and do not make any representation or warranty as to their completeness or accuracy.
©2014 The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. All rights reserved. Bloomberg Law Reports ® is a registered trademark and service mark of The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
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Emmy Nominations for Branagh, GleesonFilm Awards
Over the weekend, nominations for the Emmys were revealed. Congratulations are in order for actor Brendan Gleeson (Mad Eye) for his work on the HBO Winston Churchill film "Into the Storm," and to actor Kenneth Branagh for his work on the BBC series "Wallander." Cheers!


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We are happy with the Gopher's class, but here is a look at how the rest of the Big Ten fared today!
Do you dream of bathing in an unending wave of college football goodness? Do you ever feel like you just see too much of your girlfriend, the sun or your Jack Russell, Bo? If so, do we have...
UPDATE: 2 Free Courtside Men's Basketball Tickets for Best Response. 2 More Free Courtside Tix to Randomly Selected Response. Open thru Fri Jan 24
Could Trevion Thompson (above) catch passes from fellow Hillside HS alum Vad Lee?
Utah football put together a quiet, but solid class - their since being invited to the Pac-12.
Who's Utah's next big star?
Bret Bielema and Co. added to the Badgers' 2013 recruiting class this weekend, receiving verbal commitments from two in-state players, Hayden Biegel and Jazz Peavy. The 6-6, 245 pound Biegel...
Utah football and basketball picked up a pair of recruits Wednesday.
Utah commit Josh Hearlihy has been asked for a scholarship release from the Utah basketball program.
Utah football wraps up its best class in school history. Here's a quick rundown of the commits.
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PHILADELPHIA- FGCU's unexpected success in the NCAA tournament has thrust Andy Enfield into the national spotlight.
Now it could be earning the FGCU head coach a hefty raise- maybe with the Eagles, or maybe elsewhere.
NBC 2 Sports Director Brian Colleran has learned that the university wants to re-structure Enfield's original 5-year deal, with the goal of making the 43-year old Enfield the highest paid coach in the Atlantic Sun Conference, nearly doubling his current salary to $300,000 per season.
Right now, FGCU doesn't have the money to make that happen.
The school is hoping to have donations come forward to help keep Enfield with the Eagles.
Enfield's profile has grown exponentially since FGCU upset Georgetown in the Eagles' first-ever NCAA tournament game on Friday.
The Eagles were just the seventh number 15-seed to knock off a number 2-seed, but the dominance the up-tempo Eagles showed against the Hoyas made the feat even more impressive.
Enfield already had a good-looking resume before he took over as FGCU's head coach two years ago.
He served two stints and an NBA assistant coach with the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics, and was a key member of Leonard Hamilton's staff as a Florida State assistant from 2006-2011.
Enfield has also been a player development consultant, working with NBA stars like Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce.
And he's still the NCAA's all-time leader in career free-throw percentage.
But Enfield's best work may be what he's done with the Eagles in two seasons.
Enfield took over a program that had gone 18-41 in the previous two seasons and quickly turned it into a winner.
In his first year on the job, Enfield led a team full of freshmen and sophomores to the Atlantic Sun tournament final in its first year of postseason eligibility.
He's led FGCU to a 25-10 record this season and its first Atlantic Sun Conference title, first NCAA tournament appearance, and first NCAA tournament win.
3719 Central AvenueFort Myers, FL 33901Main Phone: (239) 939-2020Newsroom Phone: (239) 939-6223


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Bar Exam
Arizona Supreme Court OKs Proposal to Allow 3Ls to Take Bar Exam
Posted Dec 12, 2012 9:28 AM CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Arizona will allow third-year law students to take the bar exam in February under a three-year experimental program approved on Monday by the Arizona Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court order (PDF) approved an amended rule paving the way for the pilot program. Arizona is now the only state that currently allows 3Ls to take the bar exam, the National Law Journal reports.
All three law schools in Arizona had supported the proposal as a way to allow students to enter the job market more quickly. The NLJ quotes Sally Rider, associate dean of the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. The early exam "addresses several criticisms of legal education: it's too expensive, the third-year students are unfocused and students have to wait so long after graduation until they can take the bar and be ready to practice," Rider said.
Many employers won't even interview applicants until they have their law license, according to Judy Stinson, associate dean for academic affairs at Arizona State University Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. A bar exam after graduation "really does delay the amount of time before they start offsetting the cost of their education," Stinson told the NLJ.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Join DTN for a free webinar, "ARC or PLC Choices: Which Farm Bill Contingency Plan is Right for You?" Aug. 21 with economists Carl Zulauf of Ohio State University and Gary Schnitkey of the University of Illinois. They will help you analyze your farm bill options and prepare landowners for critical one-time decisions. Learn which conditions favor ARC or PLC and how each option will influence your crop insurance purchases in the years ahead. To register for Thursday, Aug. 21, 9:00-10:00 a.m. CDT, go to https://dtn.webex.com/….
The event will be recorded for later viewing in case you are unable to make the original time.
HADDONFIELD, N.J. (DTN) -- Dee Vaughan knows he has two emergency defenses against low revenues on his dryland crops near Dumas, Texas: crop insurance and the 2014 Farm Act's safety nets. After years of severe drought, farmers across the southwest and Great Plains may face big gaps in the first.
All U.S. growers will likely face crop insurance guarantees for 2015 far below corn's 2011-13 glory days, since planting guarantees are based on current futures prices. But drought worse than the Dust Bowl has repeatedly whittled Moore County's dryland yields on wheat and grain sorghum: the Texas Panhandle county suffered non-irrigated wheat yield losses 50% or more below their long-term average in 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, he said. On his personal dryland wheat operation, he suffered severe yield losses in 2006, 2007 and 2011. Both Vaughan and the county averaged abnormally low sorghum yields 2011 to 2013.
"About 80% of my ground is irrigated, so I personally did not have the losses to the degree producers who are 100% non-irrigated did," he said. With so many wipeouts lowering 10-year Actual Production History (APH), conventional crop insurance won't come close to protecting what locals would consider a sustainable revenue, he noted. "In Texas, because of higher losses, we already have higher rates," Vaughan said. "It's pretty rare to see insurance coverage above 60% to 65% because it's so expensive."
His worry about unrealistically low APHs is compounded by the fact that USDA was authorized to allow an APH fix for those wipeout years under the new farm law, but elected not to implement the change until the 2016 crop due to manpower shortages.
"Now we're hearing some Texas farm lenders say they'd be hard pressed to advance operating credit for some growers next season," a frustrated Vaughan said. He questioned why USDA is getting a pass and believes it still could hire outside contractors to implement rules in time for 2015.
"The current APH rules and yield plugs were not written to deal with drought situations which occur only every few decades," he said. So until the issue is resolved, farm programs will be vital to his risk management strategies.
Welcome to the 21st century farm safety net: Growers must commit to a five-year farm program option later this winter. But whether grain producers receive more farm program assistance through the Agriculture Revenue Coverage Program (ARC) or the Production Loss Coverage Program (PLC) depends on how long and how severely low prices last. ARC assistance also varies depending on a county's average yield from year to year.
So many variables are a sharp departure from past counter-cyclical farm programs and raise the possibility that farm supports will be difficult to predict.


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LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- A University of Louisville professor wants to put Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell out of a job.
U of L Communications Professor Greg Leichty hopes to win the Democratic nomination for McConnell's U.S. Senate seat. He made the announcement on Twitter.
He joins other longshots in the running. Democrats are still waiting to hear whether Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes or former Miss America Heather French Henry will run.
Actress Ashley Judd considered a run, but decided against it.
Copyright 2013 WDRB News. All rights reserved.
624 W. Muhammad Ali BlvdLouisville, KY 40203


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A journalist tracks down the man who escaped being the twelfth victim of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
As a tabloid reporter in the early 1990's, my father, Denny Johnson, covered stories that ranged the gamut from celebrities behaving badly to people claiming to have been captured by interstellar traveling space aliens. However, this story (concerning the man that successfully slipped away from death at the hands of Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer) was perhaps his most important and certainly most riveting.
With "The One that Got Away", Denny Johnson, a man who was always a reporter with storyteller instincts and a storyteller with reporter's instincts, is able to bring the finished story off of the tabloid page and give us the entire story- including the story of getting the story. No longer is he constricted to the demands of a newspaper's word count and brief story structure.
The result is a chilling true account that puts you in the room with one of the world's most feared serial killers.


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South Beach
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The Batesville Herald-Tribune
---- — , Sunman, died Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at St. Andrews Health Campus. Lucy Mae Cranfill, 78
The daughter of the late Samuel Cash Jewell and Amanda (Lunsford) Jewell was born April 3, 1935, in Burns Springs, Clay County, Ky.
Mrs. Cranfill was a housekeeper for the Radisson Hotel for several years, retiring in 1989.
Mrs. Cranfill is survived by her four children: Richard E. Cranfill Jr., Amanda (Dennis) Westerman and Christopher Cranfill, Brookville, and Debra (Ray) Chalk, Cincinnati; seven grandchildren: Steven (Gloria) Cranfill, Christopher (Mendy) Cranfill, Jamie Copeland, Robert (Jaymie) Shaffer, Crystal (James) Tilton, Shane (Kim) Westerman and Nikki Christerson; in addition to 18 great-grandchildren. She is also survived by sister Callie Hoegman, Batesville, and brother James William Jewell, North Vernon.
Preceding her in death were her parents; husband Richard E. Cranfill Sr.; and siblings Maggie Gilbreath, Carlos Jewell, Hommer Jewell, Samuel Jewell Jr. and Theopolis Jewell.
Funeral services with the Rev. Dr. Harold Shackleford officiating will be held Wednesday, Sept. 4, at 1 p.m. with visitation from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Jackman Kercheval Meyers Funeral Home, Harrison, Ohio. Burial will be in Crown Hill Cemetery, Cincinnati. Online condolences can be posted at www.jkmfuneralhome.com.


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East Coast weather!
Anything that might not belong on the other message boards!
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Politics and religion are two topics that tend to degenerate into a violation of one of the three simple rules above.
The mods and the site admin reserve the right to "lock" or "delete" any discussion that in our opinion, is "heading in the wrong direction."
MOST of all, be respectful of your fellow Cubber's opinions. Don't expect to change someones belief system from a simple forum on the internet.
Re: East Coast weather!
Glad to hear that you and the family are safe and sound. Thanks for posting Carl.
Confusion breeds Discussion which breeds Knowledge which breeds Confidence which breeds Friendship
Re: East Coast weather!
Weathered the storm here only 3-1/2" of rain total. Electric was out for over 70 hours, luckly no property damage, glad I had a generator for the sump pump and the freezer, really glad the worst of the storm missed us, alot still with out electric locally.
Pray for the people of New York and New Jersey that were not so fortunate on the eastern seaboard.
My prayers to all.
Bruce T.
Re: East Coast weather!
My thoughts and prayers go out for the people who are up against and recovering from natures wrath. Its a northeast katrina for sure. Remember material things can be replaced lives can't. godbless.
I have two geneators up and running if needed, with two more to be repaired. (the kids may need them too). I just ordered a coleman portable oven for baking on the woodstove or coleman stove. I have propane for the swedish cooking stoves i just purchased there all stainless. The primos brand i think. I think i have a supply of food for at least 6 to 9 months now. Can goods and baking goods. Bread is the staple of life with wine right? I need to stock up on the drink of the gods next. I'm preppi9ng for what ever happens next. wether its a cyclone of a northeaster or just 12-21-2012 as there also saying. I really think our creator is returning soon.
I purchased lots of the king aurther baking stuff and they have some awesome pumpkin pancake mix too. I got lots of there bread mixes too. I did get some camping brown bread in a can just incase. I figure that those DAK 1lb can hams and cans of chili and cornbeef hash plus canned beef too. Plenty of macroni, tomato sauce and parma cheese. When your hungry anything eats good.
I laso found canned butter and canned chese too.
I'm looking into a new source of power, solar power and bigger on demand generator but a new welder with a 10k generator at half the cost would light up the house.
Don't fprget the toilet paper.......soap too.
I have cooked a complete italian meal on a woodstove in the middle of winter. I made meatballs, sauce and boiled the water for the macroni plus made the garlic bread. It came out great.
I was a short order cook as a teenager and can cook anything. I make gormet meals at my camp when hunting. I never tried rabbit catchatore yet.
My point is we need to prep now and trust no weather report. I was in the blizzard of '78 with plenty of food in the house. My mom did teach me when a threat of bad weather is predicted get food and milk for the kids.
My jeep tractor is ready along with my int154 they can handle any snow.
I'm technically misunderstood at times i guess its been this way my whole life so why should it change now.
Re: East Coast weather!
Another sad note is Irene and sandy ruined halloween for the kids in some areas.
I'm technically misunderstood at times i guess its been this way my whole life so why should it change now.
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It's hot outside. Gardeners can escape summer's heat by retreating to the air-conditioning or a shady porch, but garden plants... Read more »
August in the garden can be challenging for both gardeners and plants. Read more »
Extreme heat merits triage treatments Read more »
The first time you try our PowerGear® Pruner, you'll be amazed — but it's not magic, it's gears. Our patented gear technology m... Read more »
Specifically designed to reduce the effort required to cut tough tree and shrub branches, this durable pruner includes an easy-... Read more »
This pro-style pruner features adjustable blade tension to fit your hand strength and the toughness of the material you're cutt... Read more »
Reusable snack packs are an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic baggies, and not only are they much cuter, they'll... Read more »
Using Duck Tape® to cover a simple notebook can take your journals from mediocre to marvelous in no time! Read more »
These sturdy little Duck Tape® magnetic pockets are easy to make and will help keep a locker organized and small school suppli... Read more »
Our unique Tag Maker with Built-in Eyelet Setter features an innovative design that makes it easy to create tags perfect for gi... Read more »
Our unique Tag Maker with Built-in Eyelet Setter features an innovative design that makes it easy to create tags perfect for gi... Read more »
Our unique Tag Maker with Built-in Eyelet Setter features an innovative design that makes it easy to create tags perfect for gi... Read more »
As the parent of a picky eater, my morning routine before school always entails packing a lunch. Read more »
With a new school year on the horizon, it is time to refocus on our fall wardrobe. Read more »
This simple school skirt is very easy to make and beginner seamstresses will enjoy making more than one! Read more »
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Fiskars and Duck Tape are teaming up to make the world smarter and more colorful together.
Add beautiful mood lighting at outdoor gatherings. Why not craft up a set to use this summer.
The perfectly straight cut lines that it creates, makes cutting paper a breeze. And yet, there are so many more great ways to get "creative" with your paper trimmer, than just simply trimming paper. I've come up with a few fun (& easy!) projects that showcase some of these unique paper trimming techniques.
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After the patch-working is complete, add journaling and a title to one or more blocks. Use various sized Fiskars circle punches to accent the layout with complementary patterned papers. Machine stitch along the seams of where you've pieced different papers together. The finished result will be a fun and colorful page with a homespun look.
The second technique I played with uses the classic method of paper weaving, with a few Fiskars tools thrown in to make the process easier! Start by using your trimmer to cut various width strips of different patterned papers.
Next start in a horizontal fashion and make a light pencil mark on the left side of your card (or page) about the width of your paper strip. Use your Fiskars craft knife to slice the marked length open, so that the paper strip can be woven in. Secure the left side of the paper strip under the card/project with a small amount of adhesive.
Repeat the process of making a slice mark on the right side of your card/project and feed the opposite end of your paper strip through. The "rough" end of the strip can be trimmed on an angle and left visible as shown in the photo.
After horizontal strips are complete, weave more paper strips in a vertical fashion through the horizontal strips that are already in place. Use the craft knife "slicing technique" to secure one end of each vertical strip as well. Alternate (top vs bottom) which end of the strip is secured.
Once woven, use the Fiskars Ultra Shape Xpress tool and circle template to add a cardstock circle to the top of your card. Choose a greeting for your card, and then embellish with rhinestones and pearls.
My third project incorporates another Fiskars paper trimmer – the Portable Rotary Trimmer – and demonstrates a new way to use the Scallop Blade that you may not initially have thought of. I love the look of the "reverse scallop" – or the opposite side of what is left on your paper after you trim and create a pretty scallop edge on the other side of your piece of paper. Why not use those reverse scallops to embellish a project?
Start by trimming a variety of coordinated patterned papers with the scallop rotary blade attached to your rotary trimmer. Arrange your reverse scallop strips on your layout as desired.
I arranged mine at the bottom of a photo that I had double matted on cardstock. Adhere the strips and then add a title and machine stitching to your page to finish it off.
The layered look of the reverse scallops adds a nice element of texture to your page design!
I hope that after reading this article, you'll look at your Fiskars paper trimmer in a new light! Think of waysbeyond just "trimming paper" to get the most out of this very versatile tool!
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|Baseball » News
|» A-Sun Championship Central » Eagle Baseball Camps » Recruit Questionnaire » News » Schedule » Roster » Coaches » Statistics » Archive
Eagles Set to Face No. 13 Miami in 'Battle of the Birds'
FORT MYERS, Fla. - The Florida Gulf Coast University baseball team will host the No. 13 Miami Hurricanes on Wednesday, April 14, at 6:30 pm, at Hammond Stadium for "Battle of the Birds." Tickets for this event are still available (Reserved seating: $9.00; General Admission: $6.00) and can be purchased online at www.FGCUAthletics.com/tickets, at the FGCU Ticket Office, located in Alico Arena (239-590-7145), or at Hammond Stadium prior to gametime.
Date: Wednesday, April 14th, 2010
Location: Fort Myers, Fla.
Game Time: 6:30 pm
Stadium: Hammond Stadium
Opponent: University of Miami
Series Info: Miami leads the all-time series 2-0
Last meeting: 4/22/09 Miami 13, FGCU 7 in Coral Gables, Fla.
The contest with the Hurricanes marks the second consecutive season that the Eagles (21-10, 12-3 A-Sun) have hosted a BCS conference opponent in a Hammond Stadium event. In last year's "Slammin' at Hammond" event, the Eagles fell to the then #22 ranked Florida Gators, 12-3. The contest was played in front of 5,147 spectators, the largest single-game "home" event in FGCU Athletics history. A few weeks later the Eagles extracted revenge with a 17-5 victory over the then #9 ranked Gators on their home diamond up in Gainesville.
Hammond Stadium is a baseball venue located in the Lee County Sports Complex. The stadium was built in 1991 and holds 7,500 fans. It is the Spring Training home of the Minnesota Twins, and houses the Fort Myers Miracle, their Class A Advanced affiliate in the Florida State League.
The Miami Hurricanes bring a 23-9 overall record (11-4 ACC) to Fort Myers, including dropping two of three to Virginia Tech last weekend. Miami has qualified for the NCAA Tournament a NCAA-record 37 consecutive years and has made it to Omaha, Neb. for the College World Series in 11 of the last 16 seasons. Head Coach Jim Morris has won 14 of 16 NCAA Regional appearances at UM, including a record 13-straight to start his tenure in Coral Gables.
Miami's offense has averaged over eight runs and 10 hits per game in its last nine contests. Yasmani Grandal, who leads the team in hitting (.415), RBI (35), total bases (87), slugging percentage (.707) and on-base percentage (.520), has hit six of his seven homers in UM's last 11 contests. The Hurricanes also have a ton of speed on their squad, as they have successfully stolen 63 bases and recorded 17 triples this season.
The Eagles are led by a pair of pre-season All-Americans in left-handed starting pitcher Chris Sale and hard-hitting corner infielder Zach Maxfield. Sale was also voted the top pro prospect and All Star MVP of the prestigious Cape Cod Summer League. Additionally, Sale and Maxfield were honored by the conference coaches as preseason pitcher and player of the year, while the team was selected as the preseason favorite to win the A-Sun conference.
Through 31 games, FGCU holds a .348 team batting average with eight players hitting above .340. The team is led by A-Sun Preseason Player of the Year Zach Maxfield's (North Port, Fla.) .412 average with 31 RBI, 27 runs scored, and five home runs. Stephen Wickens (Whitby, Ontario, Canada) is second on the squad with a .373 average to go with his 21 RBI, 31 runs, and 12 stolen bases. Tim Roberson (West Palm Beach, Fla.), FGCU's leader in homers (7), and Mikel Alvarez (West Palm Beach, Fla.) have combined for 68 runs, 61 RBI, and are hitting .340 and .371, respectively. The Blue and Green have outscored their opponents 273-178 thus far and have a pitching staff that has an ERA of 5.02 and struck out 256 batters while walking 102.
Directions to Hammond Stadium
From the South
Via I-75: Take I-75 to exit 131 (Daniels Parkway). Turn left (west) on Daniels Parkway to Six Mile Cypress Parkway. Make a left on Six Mile Cypress Parkway. Hammond Stadium is ahead on the right.
Via US-41: Travel North on US-41 to Six Mile Cypress Parkway. Turn right onto Six Mile Cypress Parkway. Ballpark will be ahead on your left.
From the North
Via I-75: Take I-75 to exit 136 (Colonial Blvd). Turn right (west) on Colonial to Six Mile Cypress Parkway. Make a left on Six Mile Cypress Parkway. Hammond Stadium is ahead on the right.
Via US-41: Travel South on US-41 to Daniels Parkway. Turn left onto Daniels Parkway. After a few miles, turn right onto Six Mile Cypress Parkway, ballpark will be on the right. From the Beaches Take Summerlin Road to Gladiolus Drive. Turn right onto Gladiolus Drive and cross US-41. Once you've crossed US-41, it becomes Six Mile Cypress Pkwy. Ballpark will be ahead on your left.


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Germany World Cup Winners
This official Aston Villa FC 2014 calendar has full colour images of the current squad and is ideal for all Villa fans. This calendar measures 420mm x 297mm (A3).
[Order (see delivery cost to the UK - Europe - Rest of the world on the order form)] -- £1.59
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CATEGORIES Comedy, Drama, Foreign Language, Independent, New Releases, Columns, Features, Indie Spotlight, Movies, Columns, New Releases, CinematicalDid you hear there are like a million new films opening in wide release today? Well, there are. Some of them are pretty good, too. But just in case that's not enough to keep you occupied, here's the Indie Spotlight with several more titles that might interest you, most of them in limited release and a bit under the radar.
Now, "indie" can be a hard thing to pin down. Bill Maher's Religulous (opening today on 500 screens) might qualify, but you've probably already heard about it. Same goes for Blindness (1,700 screens). You don't need me for those. Instead, here are the five that we're shining the indie spotlight on: Allah Made Me Funny, An American Carol, Ballast, Kidnap, and Rachel Getting Married.
Rachel Getting Married
What it is: One of the big hits at the Toronto International Film Festival, it's a naturalistic drama about an addict (Anne Hathaway) who gets out of rehab just in time for her sister's wedding.
What they're saying: Cinematical's James Rocchi had almost nothing but good things to say about it in Toronto, particularly with regard to the screenplay and Hathaway's performance. (There's a bit of Oscar buzz around both.) At Rotten Tomatoes, the film stands at a solid 76%.
Where it's playing: New York City (Lincoln Plaza Cinemas, City Cinemas, Regal Union Square), Los Angeles (ArcLight Sherman Oaks, ArcLight Hollywood, Laemmle Playhouse in Pasadena, Edwards Westpark in Irvine, The Landmark), and International Falls, Minn. (Cinema 5).
More info: Sony Classics' official site.
What it is: A bleak drama about life and death among the lower classes on the Mississippi Delta.
What they're saying: Cinematical's James Rocchi praised the film at Sundance (and interviewed the writer/director, Lance Hammer, here). At Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of the critics agree with The Rocch. It won prizes for its directing and cinematography at Sundance, too.
Where it's playing: New York City (Film Forum).
More info: The official site says it will expand to "select cities" in two weeks.
An American Carol
What it is: Airplane! mastermind David Zucker co-wrote and directed this conservative spoof in which an America-hating liberal (think Michael Moore) is visited by three ghosts to make him more patriotic.
What they're saying: Right-wing political humor doesn't have a very good track record; then again, David Zucker does. Keeping his film hidden from critics and the press before its release doesn't bode well, but we'll see.
Where it's playing: Everywhere -- it opens on 1,700 screens today.
More info: Clips 'n' stuff at the official site.
Allah Made Me Funny
What it is: A concert film featuring three of the leading American Muslim stand-up comedians. You gotta admit, that's pretty intriguing.
What they're saying: Mixed reviews so far at Rotten Tomatoes, with even the positive notices saying the humor is uneven.
Where it's playing: Atlanta (Midtown Arts), Berkeley (Shattuck Cinemas), Boston (Kendall Square), Chicago (Century Centre), Dallas (Inwood Theatre), Detroit (Maple Art Theatre), Houston (Angelika), Los Angeles (Laemmle Sunset 5), Minneapolis (Lagoon Cinema), New York City (Quad Cinemas), San Diego (Hillcrest Cinemas), San Francisco (Opera Plaza), Seattle (Varsity Theatre), and St. Louis (Plaza Frontenac).
More info: The official site.
What it is: A thriller from India, opening simultaneously there and here, about, um, a kidnapping.
What they're saying: No reviews yet. We'll all solve the mystery together!
Where it's playing: A couple dozen locations all over the place, mostly in the suburbs around New York, L.A., Chicago, Houston, etc.
More info: The interactive official site.


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I've been browsing some of the forum topics and was hoping someone could also help me review a few short stories I've been writing. I'm not aiming to be a serious sci-fi writer - not yet, anyway - for now, I'd like to see how they sound to a reader before adapting my style and changing the content.
The background: it's a couple centuries ahead of now, and time travel is being studied by an organization (vaguely governmental) called the Chronological Institute. There are various people involved in the process of time travel, including the travelers themselves, and historians who scope out the place before travelers go there. It's difficult for me to describe the specific story plots themselves, except to say that time travel is - obviously - integral to the plot. Perhaps what differentiates the stories is the purpose and method of the time travel.
These short stories, as well as a bit more background, can be found at my personal blog: http://atleastintheory.wordpress.com/th ... institute/.
Any constructive criticism will be greatly appreciated! And I would be more than happy to return the favour.


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"sumptuous and truly authentic Italian food . The menu - which includes pretty much every Italian dish you could think of - offers hearty classic Italian
Can't find your city? Try Time Out World for great nights out and all that's going on near you – wherever you are in the world.
Magazines and Visitor Guides are also available in Malta, Porto and Muscat.
© Tom Baker
Posted: Tue Oct 18 2011
Basement spaces can be a difficult proposition for a restaurant designer. A tricksy, awkward room layout, echoing acoustics and austere black and smoked glass fittings all conspire to create a rather gloomy sense of oppression at Il Baretto.
Service too was off-kilter, veering from obsequious to matey, with a constant undertow of upselling: buy bottled water, buy bread, buy wine, buy another starter…
On the other hand, we were perfectly happy with our shared starter, a dazzlingly pretty broad bean and rocket salad topped with razor-thin slices of tart, feisty pecorino cheese. And we wanted to leave space for our primo – beautifully al dente paccheri smothered in a dense 'nduja sauce and grated smoked ricotta, its rustic smokiness setting off to perfection the spiciness of the soft Calabrian sausage and tomato sauce. Grilled lamb chops, piled high and deliciously moist, worked well as a follow-up, particularly when they were teamed with foot-long matchsticks of deep-fried courgettes coated in barely-there batter, and a bowl of delicate, glistening green beans.
Yes, the food is great, but it seems overpriced, and the service and decor are wide of the mark. Il Baretto feels like it's in danger of becoming an irrelevant haunt for the local ladies who lunch.
ReviewsAdd +
Il Baretto
43 Blandford Street
020 7486 7340
Lunch served noon-3pm Mon-Fri; 12.30-4pm Sat, Sun. Dinner served 6-10.30pm Mon-Fri; 6.30-10pm Sat, Sun
Tube: Baker Street tube
Main courses £14.50-£31.50
2.6 / 5
"sumptuous and truly authentic Italian food . The menu - which includes pretty much every Italian dish you could think of - offers hearty classic Italian
Friends booked the table and were given a time slot. The food was practically thrown at us. Portions were tiny and prices very high. The service was very poor and waiters couldn't answer basic questions about the food. Then the manager came and told us we had to vacate the table as our time was up. I certainly wouldn't go there again
We were made to wait for 40minutes, weren't offered anything to drink, and when asked for the manager, was told that he would come....he didn't! Food was nice, but nothing special, portions tiny, and prices high. Service terrible. Don't think I'll go again, too many better italians in london.
Superb! Spent nearly 2 and a half hours here enjoying the food and atmosphere on Sunday afternoon. Food was brilliant! Wine recommendation was spot on! Yes its not cheap but i'd happily pay the same again to get the same again! Well done. Next time we're in London well be back
What a fantastic place to have a dinner with my family Friendly staff and food very good and very Italian. Definitely worth it
I don't really see what the other reviewers are complaining about. Just got back from a meal here, and I thought it was terrific. We only had pizzas and bottled water, but there was no pressure from the staff for us to eat/drink more. And the pizzas were the best I've had in London; having lived here for 24 years, that's saying a lot. Atmosphere was buzzy and upmarket, and it felt like being in a nice restaurant in Italy. Looking forward to going back soon.
I've been here twice. I want to like it because it's close to home. The food is decent, if very expensive for quality and for quantity. The setting is cramped, but passably stylish. But the service is just atrocious. They definitely have enough staff who manage to bump into your chair or table every few minutes. But it's their attitude that is horrendous, as if they're too busy to care. Well, here's one customer they don't have to care about anymore.
Good food, awful awful service!
Finally tried this local spot in Marylebone. I think my sentiments to follow are much the same as the other comments... From the outside, it looks like a cute wine bar - with stools in the window and a cozy atmosphere. That feel pretty much stops there as you're whisked downstairs to the very busy and very loud downstairs dining area. This place would fit right in in New York's Meat Packing district with its unable-to-make-conversation-with-the-person-sitting-across-from-you loudness, the amount of ���fake" everything you see walking through the door, the countless numbers of table's checks that you know are going on corporate cards, and the clear absence of any locals (b/c we should know better!). Enter the menus – starting with the wine menu: for a place being marketed as a "wine bar," their selection of wines by the glass is not only limited but extremely expensive. One would think they would at least offer tasting portions or perhaps even a flight. But no. The rest of the menu offered much of the same over-indulgence, under-performance. We started with the Black ink tagliolini with crab meat & courgette (though they must have been out of courgette replacing with a large helping of cherry tomatoes). We then had the Stuffed rabbit with black olives & potatoes, & Scallops & prawns sautéed with fresh peas. The rabbit dish was pleasantly delicious, though a bit dry – saved slightly by the sauce. The scallop and prawn dish was a mess. The prawns were of the peel-and-eat variety, heads and all, not something one wants to deal with when eating a nice dinner out. Not to mention the fact that once you tackled the shell, they were pitifully dry inside. 3 tiny prawns and 3 tiny scallops later, it left me wanting more, only b/c I was still hungry and just paid almost 30 quid for a snack. Oh and just a note: the "fresh peas" were in the form of a green smear on the plate… As mentioned already, portions in both main dishes were quite small and for the prices you pay, they either need to load up your plate or serve outstanding food, neither of which were the case. Overall, this was an unnecessarily expensive night out in a neighborhood that has so many wonderful spots to eat, at half the price. We will not be going back, nor recommending it to anyone we know and like.


text:
22 U.S. Code § 286bb - Elimination of predatory agricultural export subsidies
The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States Executive Director of the Fund to propose and work for the adoption of a policy encouraging Fund members to eliminate all predatory agricultural export subsidies which might result in the reduction of other member countries' exports.
Source(July 31, 1945, ch. 339, § 44, as added Pub. L. 98–181, title I[title VIII, § 805], Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1271.)
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Abbaye Des Rocs [Brasserie Des Rocs Brune] - Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs s.a.
Displayed for educational use only; do not reuse.
Ratings: 402 | Reviews: 303 | Display Reviews Only:
4.75/5 rDev +12.3%
09-01-2014 05:27:05 | More by Dellpepper123
United Kingdom (England)
3.5/5 rDev -17.3%
08-26-2014 08:27:19 | More by mattfancett
4/5 rDev -5.4%
08-07-2014 02:47:42 | More by grumpygerman
4/5 rDev -5.4%
Pours with a fluffy off white head and a dark brown body with some orange highlights. Head settles down to a little covering.
The aroma is sweet and fruity.
Dark fruit malts and turns even darker with a slightly roasted quality. A little sweet.
Drinks smooth with a medium body and the carbonation is balanced well with the beer.
Really nicely done beer.
07-31-2014 14:16:35 | More by MattSweatshirt
4.75/5 rDev +12.3%
07-27-2014 07:15:02 | More by lmaduells
4.75/5 rDev +12.3%
07-13-2014 15:35:33 | More by adam5454
3.69/5 rDev -12.8%
A-Pours a dark brown with some crimson notes when held closer to the light. A bit of detritus floats about. Well-sized, off-white head with random lace.
S-Dark fruits, spices, alcohol, brown sugar and a hint of tartness. Belgian yeast. Smells very sweet.
T-Sweet brown sugar and caramel. Dark fruits sprinkled with spices. Noticeable alcohol heat. An earthy, tobacco flavor. Finishes with mildly tart fruits.
M-A sipper of sorts. Even though the booze was noticeable, I was impressed by the beer's ability to mask much of the booze. A bit sticky.
O-A decent dark Belgian Ale. I rarely find myself enjoying the style so I I don't really know how high this beer's ceiling truly is. I like the mild tartness in the flavor. Was a sample. I wouldn't buy a whole one.
06-23-2014 23:06:16 | More by VelvetExtract
New York
3.75/5 rDev -11.3%
06-19-2014 01:31:32 | More by davidwhatshisnam
3.9/5 rDev -7.8%
this is the beer i think of when i think of belgian browns, its just awesome, so big yet elegant, and really unique. the pour is a little off putting, i can see that, so much yeast floating around in here, chunky and never really settling out beneath the thick off white head. the beer itself, aside from the yeast pieces, as actually rather clear, caramel colored, and full bodied. a nose of melting sugar, belgian strong ale yeast, and just layers of sweet grain, with more caramel and toffee character than toast, and an invisible alcohol content. extremely appetizing. the taste is similar, with the sweetness lasting all the way though, but never being too much. they yeast is dialed in too, not in your face or real estery, just mature and distinctly belgian. a great burnt sugar finish with the yeast develops, and the beer is long on the tongue after the swallow. a little lighter than most browns, more in that copper range, but certainly not left wanting for more grain complexion on this beer. easier drinking too for what it is, on coarseness from the alcohol at all. the only critique for me is all this yeast, and i know the beer has a little age and its common for the style, but even the mouthfeel is a little granular, chunky, textured. its too much, i dont want to chew yeast bits in my beer, but its necessary, especially as the bottle pours down. not enough to turn me off though, this is great stuff.
06-16-2014 20:08:32 | More by StonedTrippin
4.3/5 rDev +1.7%
Pour: 53-57F in snifter glass. Start with tilted and finish pouring high to get a decent head about 1 inch. The head becomes a thin film. No yeast left in the bottle.
Color: Dark brown with tiny floating specs of spices?
Aroma: Wheat bread, raisins, nuts, wood, some chocolate, nutmeg, a hint of alcohol, brown sugar.
Taste: It tastes very similar to the Fat Squirrel from New Glarus, Wisconsin, US. It tastes like a nut brown ale. Medium carbonation. Medium body, not too watery or heavy. A lot of chocolate in the middle, nuts. The first taste is similar to a Guinness. As it warms it gets nutty, less chocolate. The finish is spicy. The alcohol kicks in and stays there. Good aperitif.
It has a lot of flavors that shadows the 9%. Well balanced carbonation with alcohol. The brewery says it is made with six malts, three hops and a lot of spices. It tastes like it was made with love.
06-15-2014 02:32:31 | More by tomordonez
4.25/5 rDev +0.5%
06-06-2014 01:46:53 | More by wspscott
Hong Kong
4.25/5 rDev +0.5%
05-01-2014 13:04:31 | More by boqonx
4.1/5 rDev -3.1%
A: dark brown, with dense, medium, white head, which lasts for not so long, low lacing;
S: complex malty sweetness, low caramel and bready moderately low dark fruit esters - plums, raisins, really interesting spiciness with some pepper and mint aromas, which makes it quite refreshing, very low hop aroma, moderate intense perfumy and spicy alcohol notes;
T: moderatly rich maltiness, sweet, low caramel and bread falvors, low dark fruit esters, again very interesting spiciness - peppermint, low bitterness, alcohol balance rich and malty character, it's more like vinous-alcohol, semi-sweet finish
M: thin, medium bodied, moderate carbonation, moderate alcohol warmth.
O: rich, complex and strong beer with powerfull maltiness, balanced with alcohol and spiceness.
04-27-2014 22:05:22 | More by BlazerT
3.9/5 rDev -7.8%
A: Murky brown body with a very thick and fluffy eggshell white head. Spotted lacing. Insane carbonation.
S: Caramel and a bit waxy smelling. Kind-of like crayons. A bit of butterscotch but only immediately when smelling.
T: Rich caramel and definite butterscotch flavor. A hint of herbal flavor like mint and something earthy like a bay leaf. It's very drinkable. I don't pick up any obvious alcohol flavor. I can search it out but it's not really noticeable if just drinking. Light bitterness in the aftertaste but it barely lingers.
M: As mentioned previously it is very drinkable. Nice and smooth, medium bodied, no residue on the palate. Very nice.
O: I like this beer. It's not as complex as some strong darks but it is definately more drinkable than many of them. I would gladly buy another bottle of this.
04-25-2014 20:40:58 | More by teromous
New Jersey
4/5 rDev -5.4%
03-22-2014 13:20:20 | More by Bandi
4.25/5 rDev +0.5%
03-02-2014 22:52:03 | More by Brasso
4.5/5 rDev +6.4%
03-01-2014 04:21:39 | More by stevoj
4.25/5 rDev +0.5%
02-16-2014 11:40:14 | More by Maillard
United Kingdom (Scotland)
3.75/5 rDev -11.3%
01-29-2014 19:16:03 | More by Schmoog
4/5 rDev -5.4%
01-28-2014 03:16:54 | More by warnerry
4/5 rDev -5.4%
01-06-2014 21:06:53 | More by samEBC
4/5 rDev -5.4%
01-02-2014 19:16:43 | More by jucifer1818
4.25/5 rDev +0.5%
12-22-2013 21:50:28 | More by jkermitj
New Jersey
4.75/5 rDev +12.3%
12-09-2013 01:35:31 | More by md215
4/5 rDev -5.4%
12-04-2013 22:37:52 | More by tmzl
Abbaye Des Rocs [Brasserie Des Rocs Brune] from Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs s.a.
94 out of 100 based on 402 ratings.


text:
KIN Office Hours:
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The KIN office follows the NEISD District calendar for holidays and closures.
Our Phone number has changed. Please note the new number:
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Mission Statement
The Kids' Involvement Network and KIN COSA programs provide after-school enrichment activities and supervision for elementary and middle school students in a way that will improve their attitudes, grades and behavior so they will be positive members of the school and community.
- Parents must register via the Parent Portal for the KIN Program
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text:
4 out of 4
1 Reviews
perfect with one huge exception!
June 19, 2011
ok ladies, perfect fit, i got the small and i am 34 d bra. It is well made and no nipple show with the black color. BUT... take a close look at the small v area above the bust. It has 3 layers of material in a row, in a small v line. it is always coming up and it bugs me so much. i only tried it on in the house, and i have to return it. but if it doesn't bother you, it's the perfect top! heavy support!Pros: Build quality, Performance, Ease of use, Cons: Cost, Bad design, material doesn't lay flat
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text:
- Parks (A - Z)
- Addo Elephant National Park
- Agulhas National Park
- Augrabies Falls National Park
- Bontebok National Park
- Camdeboo National Park
- Garden Route (Tsitsikamma, Knysna, Wilderness) National Park
- Golden Gate Highlands National Park
- Karoo National Park
- Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
- Kruger National Park
- Mapungubwe National Park
- Marakele National Park
- Mokala National Park
- Mountain Zebra National Park
- Namaqua National Park
- Table Mountain National Park
- Tankwa Karoo National Park
- West Coast National Park
- |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park
- Travel
- Reservations
- Conservation
- Wild Card
- Interact
- Contact Us
Mountain Zebra National Park
If you would like to make bookings or view availability for Golden Gate Hotel and Chalets, please click on the 'Make Reservation' button.
You can find more information on the booking process by clicking on 'More Info'.
Activities & Facilities
Please note:
- Game drives depart at different times during winter. Please confirm the exact departure time at Reception, should you have a booking for one.
- All activity bookings are to be made through Mountain Zebra National Park's reception:
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Tel: +27 (0)48 881 2427 or +27 (0)48 881 3434
- All bookings to be confirmed at Reception before 18h00 on the previous day. Please report to Reception 15 minutes before departure time to sign indemnity form and to make payment.
- Activity Tariffs below do not include Conservation Fees (Park Entry Fees) and are valid 1 November 2013 to 31 October 2014.
Guided Drives
Morning Game Drive
One will experience the early karoo mornings with potential of seeing Cheetah, Buffalo and other antelope. The bird life in the mornings is good with viewing of Eastern Clapper Lark, Blue Korhaan, Blue crane and many other species.
- Time: Summer: 05h00 - 07h00; Winter: 06h00 - 08h00
- Minimum two guests and a maximum nine guests.
- Minimum age: six years old.
- R160 per adult, R80 per child under 12 years old
- Dress warmly during winter.
Evening Game Drive
One will experience the best of both the late afternoon and the early evening. Animals to be on the lookout for are Cheetah, Buffalo, Bat-eared Fox, Aardwolf, Aardvark and Caracal. Night birds like the Spotted Eagle Owl and Fiery-necked Nightjar are also to be seen.
- Time: Summer: 18h30 - 20h30; Winter: 18h00 - 20h00
- Minimum two guests and a maximum nine guests.
- Minimum age: six years old.
- R160 per adult, R80 per child under 12 years old.
- Dress warmly on cool evenings.
San Cave Paintings
- Time: 09h00 - 11h00
- Minimum two guests and a maximum nine guests.
- Minimum age of six years old.
- R140 per adult, R70 per child under 12 years old.
- Note: Some clambering over rocks is required so this activity is not suitable for frail people or very young children.
Activities on Foot
Please Note: Activities on foot may be cancelled at any time due to weather conditions rendering the activity unsafe.
Please report to Reception 15 minutes before departure time to sign indemnity form and to make payment.
Morning Walks
Get out on foot in some of the more remote areas of the park and get up close and personal with some of the smaller creatures and plants, but don't forget the bigger ones. This is definitely the way to experience the Karoo Bush. These walks may include the existing 10km route or other areas of interest, depending on the group's abilities and interests.
- Time: Summer 05h00 - 08h00; Winter 07h00 - 10h00.
- Minimum of two and maximum of six people.
- 12 years - 65 years. If you are older than 65 years and wish to undertake the activity, you will be required to submit a doctor's certificate stating you are medically fit to undertake a hike in rugged terrain.
- R230 per person.
- Neutral clothing (not white or black) and walking shoes required.
- Bring own water and a small snack.
- Binoculars optional.
- Moderate level of fitness required.
Impofu 3-day Hike
This 25-kilometre, three-day trail takes in some of the highlights of the 28 000-hectare Park including Bakenkop, the Park's highest peak. The first day's hike meanders through grassland and mountain shrubland, passing the famous Big Rock. Day two is a mountain grassland experience with a chance of spotting herds of eland and mountain reedbuck. The final leg of the hike passes through riverine thicket, ending at the restcamp. Two mountain cottages provide the overnight stop for hikers in secluded and scenic areas of the Park.
- Minimum of four and maximum of 10 people.
- 12 years - 65 years. If you are older than 65 years and wish to undertake the activity, you will be required to submit a doctor's certificate stating you are medically fit to undertake a hike in rugged terrain. Guests undertaking these hikes need to have a moderate to high level of fitness.
- R390 per person (includes accommodation in mountain cottages).
- Neutral clothing (not white or black) and good walking shoes required.
- Carry own bedding and food.
- Cooking & eating utensils and firewood are provided at the mountain cottages.
- Solar-powered fridge/freezer, gas stove top and braai area available at cottages.
- Binoculars optional.
- Moderate level of fitness required.
Salpeterkop Hike
Ascend Salpeterkop for a magnificent view over the Park and a rare view of an Anglo-Boer War relic.
- Time: Summer 05h00 - 08h00; Winter: 07h00 - 10h00.
- Minimum of two and maximum of nine people.
- 12 years - 65 years. If you are older than 65 years and wish to undertake the activity, you will be required to submit a doctor's certificate stating you are medically fit to undertake a hike in rugged terrain. Guests undertaking these hikes need to have a moderate to high level of fitness.
- R285 per person.
- Neutral clothing (not white or black) and walking shoes required.
- Bring own water and a small snack.
- Binoculars optional.
- Warning: should be fairly fit and prepared for a challenging climb.
Cheetah Tracking
Drive out with your guide to search for the elusive Mountain Zebra National Park cheetahs. When signal from a collared cheetah is found, you will have the opportunity to get closer on foot.
- Ranging between 1-3 hours. Advance bookings are essential. Departure time to be confirmed by reception.
- Minimum of two and maximum of four people.
- From 12 years - 65 years. If you are older than 65 years and wish to undertake the activity, you will be required to submit a doctor's certificate stating you are medically fit to undertake a hike in rugged terrain.
- R290 per person.
- Neutral clothing (not white or black) and walking shoes required.
- Bring own water and a small snack.
- Binoculars optional.
Guided Drives & Activities on Foot
A guided drive or walk provides the ideal opportunity to get to know the park on foot or in a safari vehicle with a qualified and knowledgeable guide. Mountain Zebra National Park also provides the unique opportunity of tracking a wild cheetah with the chance to observe these cats in their natural habitat.
For more information on activities:
Visitors can also explore the park at their own leisure in their own vehicle on almost 70km of tourist roads. Roads are mostly gravel but of good standard and suitable for all vehicles. There are two short walking trails within the fenced Restcamp that can be self-hiked. The Black Eagle Trail (2.5km) is a more challenging climb to the top of the rocky outcrop with spectacular views over the Park while the Imbila Trail (1km) is an easy, flat trail.
4x4 Trails
- NB: No booking necessary as the trails are open during the normal operating hours of the Park.
- Only 4x4 vehicles may be used on the trails.
- Please note: The Juriesdam and Sonnerust trails are relatively easy drives while the Umgeni trail is more challenging. Trails may be closed in the event of wet weather or maintenance.
Sonnenrust 4x4 Trail
This 14.2km trail starts on the Ubejane Loop and ends on the Link Road (which joins Ubejane to Rooiplaat Loops). It is situated in the north-western area of the Park, skirting the base of Saltpeterskop and ending on a plateau with scenic views.
Juriesdam 4x4 Trail
This 10km trail starts and ends on the main entrance road into the Park. It explores the eastern plateau area of the Park.
Umngeni 4x4 Trail
This 8km trail takes about one hour to complete and starts on the Park's main entrance road just north-west of the restcamp area.
Community Levy
A community levy of 1% will be added to the cost of all accommodation and activity reservations arriving on or after the 1st of June 2012.
Things to do in nearby Cradock
If you are staying in Mountain Zebra National Park for more than a few days, you might want to explore some of the nearby tourist and historical attractions. Here are a few highlights:
Schreiner House Museum (9 Cross Street)
Olive Schreiner, South Africa's internationally renowned author of "The Story of an African Farm", lived in this house as a young girl from 1867 to 1870. An extensive pictorial exhibition portrays her life and those of her eminent siblings. Open Mondays to Fridays: 08h00 - 12h45 then 14h00 - 16h30 and weekends on request.
Olive Schreiner Grave, Buffelskop (26km On The Moritimer Road- Minimum 7 Hours
On 13 August 1921, Olive was reinterred on Buffelskop together with the bodies of her child and their much loved fox terrier, Nita. Arrangements for visits can be made at Schreiner House. The climb is only recommended for those who are reasonably fit.
Great Fish River Museum (behind the Municipal Building)
Built in 1849, it was the Second Dutch Reformed Church Parsonage in Cradock and declared a National Monument in 1971. The museum collection dates from 1630 - 2000. Ox wagon, different horse carts and old hearses are on view. In the Gallery see videos on the Boer War and the Cradock Four. According to hearsay it houses the organ that was played at Paul Kruger's baptism as well as copies of his christening certificate. Copies of the Midland News (Cradock's local newspaper) printed on silk dating back to 3 September 1912 are also found here. The museum is open weekdays: 08h00 - 16h00.
Die Tuishuise & Victoria Manor (Market Street)
Market Street, a proclaimed National Heritage Street, laid out in 1847, is probably one of the only streets in South Africa where all the houses are original in core. These beautifully restored houses depict the different lifestyles of the people who lived in them from Victorian splendour to that of the rugged Boer. The Victoria Manor, a grand old colonial hotel (est. 1848), serves hearty country fare.
Dutch Reformed Moederkerk (Corner Of J.A Calata And Church Street)
Styled after St Martin's-in-the-Field on Trafalgar Square, London, the Moederkerk was consecrated in 1868. This church community, the first in Cradock, was established in 1824, 10 years after the town received its name. The first President of the South African Republic, Paul Kruger, was christened in the first church in 1826. During the South African War the church was used as a lookout point by the British who occupied the town.
Lingelighle Township (Township Tour on request at Victoria Manor)
Highlights include: Vusubuntu Cultural Village, Cradock Four Garden of Remembrance, Lingelighle Cemetery, Nondis Restaurant, JA Calata House and a Tavern. Lingelihle is famous for its struggle icons: amongst others the Cradock Four (Matthew Goniwe, Fort Calata, Sparrow Mkhonto and Siklo Mhlauli) and Canon JA Calata, the longest serving Secretary General of the ANC. For more information on the Cradock Four - buy a DVD from Victoria Manor reception, go to the Great Fish River Museum, or go on a Township Tour and see the Garden of Remembrance and their graves in Lingelihle.
Karoo Comfort Zone (Health And Beauty Centre) Market Street
Karoo Comfort Zone offers our clients a professional selection of products and treatments at our Health & Beauty Clinic. A speciality of the Karoo Comfort Zone is the unique "African Hum and Sun massage". Local Xhosa perform the massages, in the sun (weather permitting), whilst singing and humming traditional melodies.
Tubing, rafting, canoeing and abseiling
Tubing, rafting, canoeing and abseiling available. Enquire at Victoria Manor reception or call James on 084 429 9944 and Wayne on 082 450 7207.
- Fully licensed a la carte restaurant, also serving light refreshments.
- Shop where curios and basic commodities may be purchased.
- Swimming pool in Restcamp for overnight visitors.
- Fonteinkloof and Weltevrede picnic sites with braai faciltiies, picnic table and ablutions. There is a swimming pool for day visitors at Fonteinkloof picnic site.
- Unleaded petrol and diesel fuel is available in the Rest Camp from 07h00 - 17h00.
- No ATM facility available in the park. The closest bank facilities are available in the town of Cradock (24km from the park).
Conference Facilities
- A Conference Room in the Reception building is ideal for your corporate meeting or conference in the bush.
- Can accommodate a maximum of 30 people seated at tables or 50 people, cinema-style (no tables).
- Catering facilities are available from the adjacent restaurant.
- Reservations:
Park Reception Tel: 048 881 2427/3434 or
SANParks Conferencing Tel: 012 426-5025
Fax: 012 426-5488
Wedding Receptions
- The Conference Room and Restaurant can be booked for small wedding receptions of maximum 50 people.
- Bookings and enquiries can be made at the park reception.
Have a question? Why not ask at the forums?
Sunny with high level clouds