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How Long Can Marijuana Be Detected?
Some THC metabolites have an elimination half-life of 20 hours. However, some are stored in body fat and have a elimination half-life of 10 to 13 days. Most researchers agree that urine tests for marijuana can detect the presence of the drug in the body for up to 13 days.
However, there is anecdotal evidence that the length of time that marijuana remains in the body is affected by how often the person smokes, how much he smokes and how long he has been smoking. Regular smokers have reported positive drug test results after 45 days since last use and heavy smokers have reported positive tests 90 days after quitting.
Regular smokers have reported positive drug test results after 45 days since last use and heavy smokers have reported positive tests 90 days after quitting.
IP confirmed. I've alerted the FBI as to your whereabouts.
When I took training for that sort of thing (used to take people to drug tests at my former employer) I was taught that 30 days can be the expected duration you will test positive for weed.
Buy a home-test kit and figure it out for yourself beforehand so you don't have to keep worrying.
Do you know when they are giving the test? If you do mix 1 box of certo (get it at Kroger) with a jug of gatorade. Drink it fast. Drink water for the next 2 hours (maybe a gallon). Then for the next few hours you will be pissing straight water.
agreed, make sure you compliment them on their hair or something.
The tests they run can easily tell if the urine has been diluted. Some labs will send the report back to the employer as "positive-dilute."
Depends on if it was laced with PCP.


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Head Coach Kevin Gee enters his 18th season coaching and his fourth behind the Eagles bench.
Named the 2008-2009 Coach of the Year in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference while at Lawrence Technological University, Gee spent the last two seasons behind the bench for the Detroit Belle Tire Midget Major AAA team. The club's 61-10-3 overall record earned them a Michigan State championship, a Tier 1 18 & Under league championship, and a berth at the National Championship tournament.
During three seasons in the ACHA at LTU, his teams had the most successful run in school history; twice reaching the regional semi-final and having several players earn All-American and Academic All-American honors.
Gee spent five seasons with Detroit Victory Honda Midget Major AAA where his team earned a State Championship in 2005, and made finals appearances in 2004 and 2006. Gee has coached over 50 players that have gone on to NCAA, Major Junior, and professional hockey, and 7 NHL draft picks, including 1st round selections Chris Summers, PHX, 2006 and Ian Cole, STL, 2006.
In addition to his duties at EMU, Coach Gee is a graduate of Lawrence Technological University and works as a Project Manager for the Hertz Corporation.

subset: commoncrawl


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History of the Department
The Department of Environmental Science of Bangalore University was established in 1992 to mainstream the scientific methods and technologies related to Environmental Science in the main curricula of the University. Incidentally the year 1992 was the Year of the UN Conference known as the Rio Summit and Agenda 21 for Environmental Protection and Conservation.
Since its establishment, the Department of Environmental Science has been primarily charged to implement a number of academic programs as per the curriculum developed by the Department as well as executing a number of funded research projects, Interdisciplinary training and connected academic activities, consultancy projects, organizing seminars, workshops, invited lectures, etc. to uplift the standard of performance of Department and to prepare the younger generation for meeting the impending opportunities and challenges ahead.
Primary mission of the Department of Environmental Sciences is to impart environmental knowledge to students and develop research and evaluation programmes. Besides, several funded project works have been completed in the last many years. Towards this end, the laboratory of the department has been provided with infrastructure facilities to meet the requirement of water, air, soil and biological sample analysis. The Environmental Science laboratory of Bangalore University is recognized under EPA, 1986 way back in 2002. Following this, the department is getting samples from various public and private undertakings, Govt. agencies, etc. Standards protocols for the analysis of the samples have been developed. Two international collaborative programmes have been undertaken, one with Griffith University, Australia and the other one with University of Venice, Italy. Curriculum development is one of the objectives of collaboration with Griffith University. Students are exposed to a host of fields such as Environmental Biology, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Pollution, Biostatistics, Waste Management, Environmental Impact Assessment, Environmental Toxicology, Remote Sensing and its applications, Geographic Information System, Natural Resource Management and Biodiversity, Disaster Management, Environmental Engineering, Energy and Conservation, Environmental Geology, and Basics of Computer Applications during their course. This has enabled them to emerge as eligible graduates with comprehensive analytical bent of mind to take up challenging tasks. Taking into consideration the multi-disciplinary nature of the course, the Department of Environmental Sciences also uses the expertise of faculties not only from the sister Departments of the University but also from leading institutions in the city.
In 1992, Prof. S.G. Phene and Dr. K.S. Anantha Murthy, Reader from the Depatment of Geology were deputed to co-ordinate the newly started department. The Department of Environmental Science attained its Department status from the in 1997. In 1998, Dr. K.S. Anantha Murthy was appointed as the Professor in Kuvempu University, Shankarghatta. Dr. R.K. Somashekar from the Department of Botany was transferred Environmental Science in June 1998.
In December 1998, Dr. R.K. Somashekar was appointed as the co-ordinator/Chairman of the Department. He was the coordinator/Chairman from 1998 to Dec 2005 for a period of 8 years. Meanwhile, in 2003, Dr. N. Nandini was appointed as Reader under the backlog vacancies. As per the university regulations on rotation Dr. N. Nandini assumed the charge as Chairperson for a period of two years, 2005-2007. Again Prof. R.K. Somashekar assumed the charge of chairmanship for another two academic years 2008 to 2010. Later the Chairpersonship was taken over by Dr.N. Nandini for the academic years Dec 2009 to Dec 2011. The present functioning Chairman is Dr. R.K. Somashekar.
The Department of Environmental Science started in the Sneha Bhavan building of Bangalore University with a few laboratories. Later in 1998 the Department moved to an independent building. Phase wise, the present Department building was established. In 2008, the first floor of the department came into existence.
Currently the infrastructure includes student Laboratories like Environmental Microbiology, Earth Science, EIA, Biodiversity, GIS and Remote sensing, Isotope and Hydrology, Computer etc. Research Laboratories are used by both project staff and Ph.D. students.
Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer with Graphite furnace, IC Fermentor, million Q water plant and other sophisticated equipments besides, a Bio-park harboring several RET species of the Western Ghats have also been added.
Advanced instruments-Resistivity meter, RAD7 radon analyzer, Ion chromatograph, Gas Chromatograph, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, Microwave Digester, Flame Photometer, etc
Water and waste water Quality Testing Instruments- Titrimetry, gravimetric and instrumental facilities- pH/conductivity meter/Nephelometer/Spectrophotometer. Water Analysis kit/ Colorimeter etc
Air Quality Monitoring: High volume sampler. Respirable sampler, weather monitoring stations, Gas analyser, Noise level meters etc.
Microbiology laboratory: Autoclaves, microscopes, , bacteriological incubators. Microbial samplers – high air putrifier, Reverse osmosis. Transilluminator etc.
Seminar Hall is being used for purposes of Meetings, Conferences, weekly presentations by Students etc. Library is facilitated with 600 books Text Books, Dissertations and several other Students project work reports
Contact Us
Tel: 080 22961365
Programs Offered
A. Course Offered - M.Sc. in Environmental Science
B. Nature of Course-Semester Scheme
C. Duration -4 Semesters (2 years)
D. Intake -20 + Payment Seats -10
Eligibility for M.Sc. in Environmental Science: A graduate in Science I Agriculture / Horticulture with a minimum of 50% marks in aggregate of all the optional subjects with Chemistry/Biochemistry and any one of the following subjects: Applied Zoology, Biological Sciences, Biotechnology, Botany, Computer Science, Electronics, Environmental Science, Geology, Genetics, Life Science, Microbiology, Physics and Zoology.
NOTE: 50% of the seats are reserved for students with Environmental Science as cognate subject at degree level.
Projects and Activities
Ph.D. Programme:
Research Projects funded by State and Central Government:
o Ministry of Environment and Forests-GoI,
o Department of Ecology and Environment, GoK
o Department of Agriculture, GoK,
o Department of Mines and Geology, GoK,
o Central Pollution Control Board, Delhi
o Center for Kasell, Germany
o Environmental Law Institute, USA
o Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences, Mumbai
o Environmental Management And Policy Research Institute (EMPRI), GOK
Copyright © 2012 www.bangaloreuniversity.ac.in | All Rights Reseved
Important Links | Contact |
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Any Suggestions towards betterment of the Website are Welcome... Send Suggestions to: firstname.lastname@example.com


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A state law is aimed to make sure that you're insured when you get behind the wheel. As of January 1st the state will be using their online insurance verification system to immediately verify insurance status in real time.
"Hopefully it means for drivers that it would be far less people getting involved in accidents and hit by uninsured motorists," said License Director Mark Craig. He says the Alabama Mandatory Liability Insurance Law will keep people from cutting corners by paying the first payment on their insurance plan, get that card that's good for 6 months or more, and then never pay again.
"It's designed to prevent those type of things," Craig said. "If it comes back unconfirmed and we enter the information in, well the State gets that. Within a couple of weeks they are going to go out and confirm it in that same database. If they do not, they will send them a letter telling them to prove to us that they have insurance."
Statewide Insurance Agent Joe Demos said the system is great for the average driver.
"There are too many instances in this state especially of people driving without insurance," he said. "What that means to you and me is if someone is at fault in an accident, you know they are going to have insurance to pay for your damages."
The online system will also make a bit of a difference at the Vehicle Registration Office.
"The new system I do think will slow us up," Craig explained. "Now, it won't slow us up a lot. It takes two or three seconds to run out and verify the computer database. So, if it comes back confirmed, then you are looking at two or three seconds. If it doesn't, we have to physically see the insurance card and enter the information in. So my suggestion would be for everybody to bring a copy of their insurance card just in case the system doesn't confirm that they have insurance."
The proof helps law enforcement as well. State Trooper Curtis Summerville said in the past, they simply went on blind faith.
"It allows us in real time to make that confirmation that you do have insurance," Summerville said. "Before this law went into place we were not able to confirm in real time whether or not someone had insurance."
Troopers said they will check for proof of insurance if they are at a wreck or if they pull you over for something else. The fine for driving uninsured is up to $500 for the first violation and up to $1000 for the second.
Copyright 2013 WAFF. All rights reserved.
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Top-ranked recipe named "Classic Southern Chicken N' Dumplin's"
This is the best cold weather, comfort food meal! Add any other vegetables you may want to bulk it up.
"I made this last week and everyone loved it!!!! I am making it again right now, the only thing i changed was i made homemade parsley dumplings my grandmother's recipe :) thanks for postings!"- JCouzins
Season the chicken liberally with the poultry seasoning, set aside.
In a large stock pot, sweat the onion, celery and carrot until onion is translucent. Add the flour to coat the veggies and create a roux. Add chicken and fill pot with water to just cover chicken. Stir well to incorporate the flour roux well. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until chicken is cooked, about 30 minutes.
Once chicken is completely cooked, remove from stock and set aside to cool. In the mean time, skim all grease off of stock mixture. Add the 2 cans evaporated milk and 1 can of cream of chicken soup to stock and blend in well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Debone the chicken and shred into bite sized chunks. Add chicken back to stock and bring back to boil.
Dumplings: Mix the Bisquick and milk until dough forms. Drop onto gently boiling stock in golf ball size chunks, covering the entire surface of stock pot. Reduce to simmer and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Put lid on stock pot and continue cooking 10 more minutes.
Serve into large bowls and enjoy!!
|My private notes
beberogers 1 year agoThis was delicious and easy. Just what I was looking for. Thanks for posting!
JCouzins 1 year agoI made this last week and everyone loved it!!!! I am making it again right now, the only thing i changed was i made homemade parsley dumplings my grandmother's recipe :) thanks for postings!
quillasgirl 2 years agoThis truly is the best basic reciepe, one can add or take away from.
Dewda 4 years agoI use a large roasting pan that can be set on two burners at once to create a larger surface area for more dumplings. The more dumplin's the merrier! This a great family meal to cook with the kids. Part of the fun of this meal is that everyone is involved and everyone gets to enjoy the fruits of their labor together! [I posted this recipe.]


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Dozens of Lloyds pharmacies dispensed packs of the tablets that cost £89 instead of a £3 option, taking advantage of a loophole in NHS rules which allows chemists to bill the taxpayer for whatever a product costs.
The Telegraph has been running an investigation into NHS pricing, and discovered that the health service was paying hugely inflated prices for common products such as cod liver oil and evening primrose oil rich in vitamin E.
According to data released by the NHS Business Services Authority under the Freedom of Information Act, in February, of the 67 pharmacies listed, 50 prescribing Ennogen capsules were Lloyds Pharmacy. In March, of the 71 pharmacies listed, 54 of the contractors were Lloyds Pharmacy. Read more
Holly Watt | The Daily Telegraph | 16th August 2013
Republicans are fond of describing Prince Charles as one of their chief assets.
They are right to do so. Reports that members of his staff have been working full-time in Whitehall – in departments in which the Prince has an express interest – have angered ministers and again raised the question of whether the Prince has any proper understanding of his constitutional position and the limits this imposes on interference in politics. The fact that it follows on from reports of a sharp increase in the number of private meetings between the Prince and ministers can only fuel suspicions in people's minds that the heir to the throne is an obsessive meddler.
The Prince certainly has form here. He was embarrassed – or should have been – when freedom-of-information requests a few years ago revealed the extent of his private correspondence with ministers in Gordon Brown's cabinet on matters ranging from hospital design to the housing supply. There soon followed a storm over the Prince's intervention with the Emir of Qatar, which resulted in the Qataris blocking Richard Rogers's redevelopment of the Chelsea Barracks in London, a pyrrhic victory that prompted several leading architects to sign an open letter accusing the Prince of abusing his position. Read more
Editorial | The Independent | 18th August 2013
Study by Release and LSE argues that drug stop-and-search operations are extending racial inequality in justice system.
Black people are not just significantly more likely to be searched by police for drugs than their white peers, but face almost double the chance of being charged if any are found, according to a study of racial disparities in the way drug laws are enforced.
The report, which analysed Home Office data in conjunction with freedom of information responses from police forces in England and Wales, also uncovered what the authors call a "postcode lottery" in the apparent racial basis for drug policing. While black people were just over six times more likely to be searched for drugs nationally, this was significantly higher in some places. In one police area, Dorset, the differential was 17 times. Read more
Peter Walker | The Guardian | 21st August 2013
A charity boss who got members of his organisation to help pay for his birthday party at the House of Lords has been lobbying the Health Secretary for measures that would increase privatisation in the NHS, documents show.
Sir Stephen Bubb, head of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo), urged Jeremy Hunt not to water down regulations that would encourage more private companies into the NHS. The regulations, drawn up as part of the Health and Social Care Act, which came into force in April, require local health bosses to put almost all services out to tender. When the reforms ran into opposition there were reports that they might be watered down.
But Sir Stephen, together with David Worskett, director of the private healthcare group NHS Partners Network, wrote to Mr Hunt urging him to keep them as they were.
Andrew Robertson, who was given the letter under Freedom of Information rules, for his Social Investigations blog, accused Sir Stephen of "walking hand-in-hand with private healthcare business." Read more
Emily Dugan | The Independent | 14th August 2013
The Bank of England spent more than £26,000 on presents and leaving parties for former governor Mervyn King, it has been disclosed.
Lord King was presented with a £10,000 copy of a painting of himself, a £2,505 replica bust of German writer Johann von Goethe and a silver napkin ring costing £597.
The information emerged following a freedom of information request from MSN UK, the online news website, with the Bank insisting the gift of the silver napkin ring is normal for all departing senior directors. Read more
Peter Dominiczak | The Daily Telegraph | 14th August 2013
Patients are being denied treatment for hernias, cataracts and infertility because the new GP-led groups that control £65bn of NHS funding are imposing new restrictions on access to care, research reveals.
At least 27 of the 211 clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) across England have tightened the criteria for obtaining one or more forms of hospital treatment in 2013-14, the British Medical Journal has established.
But, in all, 68 CCGs are looking again at their guidelines on when patients should receive treatment for one or more forms of illness, according to responses from freedom of information requests received from 195 CCGs. Read more
Denis Campbell | The Guardian | 10th July 2013
The corporation's Investigations Service monitored emails sent and received by 30 members of staff last year, according to figures revealed under Freedom of Information legislation.
Four of these were staff suspected of having leaked information to people outside the organisation and three of what it described as taking part in "malicious communications". Read more
Patrick Sawer | The Daily Telegraph | 10th July 2013
Nick Clegg was accused last night of mounting a Whitehall cover-up over claims that he helped fast-track Government funds for a charity linked to his wife.
Senior Tory MP David Davis condemned Mr Clegg's officials for citing 'personal reasons' to prevent the release of emails relating to a £12 million Government grant allocated to Booktrust last year.
A freedom of information request for emails sent by officials about the deal was blocked by the Cabinet Office, which claimed that publication would 'prejudice the effective conduct of public affairs'. Read more
Simon Walters & Glen Owen | The Daily Mail | 7th July 2013
MORE than 15,000 calls to new police non-emergency number 101 have gone unanswered since its launch four months ago.
Thousands of people hung up or were cut off before their 101 call was answered, according to figures released under freedom of information laws to the Scottish Conservatives.
Yesterday, politicians condemned the figure. Read more
Chris Clements | Scottish Daily Record | 6th July 2013
A FBI investigation into claims that Michael Jackson had been abusing two young boys was dropped so he could meet the President.
The disclosure is in a 333-page document that shows allegations of abuse made against the singer dated back to 1978, when Jackson was 20, according to the Sunday People.
In the documents, released after a Freedom of Information Act request, FBI agents confirmed that they did not follow up claims that two Mexican children were being abused 'because Jackson was to receive an honor at the White House from the President'. Read More
The Daily Mail | 7th July 2013
TAXPAYERS were billed more than £73,000 for consultants to help prepare beleaguered NHS chief Sir David Nicholson and two other NHS bosses for a grilling by MPs, it emerged last night.
The trio relied on the consultants' technical reports' to face the Commons hearing last month over the problems dogging the disastrous NHS IT system.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act reveal the consultants, hired from February, were paid £1,714 a day for the first 29.5 days, then £1,000 a day for 23 days, at a total cost of £73,563. Read more
The Daily Mail | 3rd July 2013
General David Petraeus' retreat to the Ivory Tower has proved quite rewarding.
According to a report published on Gawker today, the former C.I.A. director will earn $150,000 teaching a public policy course three hours a week at the City University of New York. Comparatively, most full time adjunct professors only make $25,000 per year.
Gawker originally reported that Petraeus would be earning $200,000 dollars for the course, which was the number they found in documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIL) request. Read more
Ashley Collman | The Daily Mail | 2nd July 2013
Patients are being kept in ambulances for up to eight hours because there are not enough beds in A&E, figures show.
More than 3,400 patients were made to wait in vehicles parked outside hospitals for at least two hours, a rise of two thirds compared to 2011/12. There is mounting evidence that hospital emergency departments are in crisis and struggling to cope with rising numbers coming through the doors.
Freedom of Information requests from eight of England's ten ambulance trusts show that last year 3,424 patients were made to wait in ambulances for at least two hours, compared to 2,061 the previous year. Read more
Sophie Borland | The Daily Mail | 1st July 2013
The Environment Agency figures, obtained under Freedom of Information, show that 560 homes were built in 2012/13, despite concerns about issues like drainage and flooding, up from just 143 in 2011/2012.
Overall some 3,930 homes were built in the last five years against EA advice.
The Association of British Insurers said the houses would be extremely expensive to insure and perhaps impossible to protect. Read more.
Louise Gray | The Daily Telegraph | 1st July 2013
Figures show up to 1,000 people a month are victims of knife crime in London. The statistics, released after a Freedom of Information request, show that around 400 people are being injured in attacks every month.
There were 1,038 victims of knife crime in London in January, of which 410 were injured and four killed. In February, there was a total of 818 victims, with 993 in March and 892 in April.
The number injured in attacks reached a peak of 420 in April, the equivalent of 14 people a day. In the first four months of the year, 11 people were murdered in knife attacks. Read more
The London Biggest Conversation Radio | 1st July 2013
A national police unit that uses undercover officers to spy on political groups is currently monitoring almost 9,000 people it has deemed "domestic extremists".
The National Domestic Extremism Unit is using surveillance techniques to monitor campaigners who are listed on the secret database, details of which have been disclosed to the Guardian after a freedom of information request.
A total of 8,931 individuals "have their own record" on a database kept by the unit, for which the Metropolitan police is the lead force. Read more
Paul Lewis, Rob Evans and Vikram Dodd | The Guardian |
Bungling surgeons are being left off NHS danger lists because of a lethal loophole which puts patients at risk and leaves cowboy doctors riding high in performance tables.
Sub-standard surgeons are supposedly monitored on a database which registers operations that go wrong.
But under narrow guidelines, botched cases are only recorded if patients die, get infected or have to return to the hospital. Read more
Andrew Gregory | The Daily Mirror | 26th June 2013
It's paradoxical that figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act reveal that the BBC, an organisation dedicated to disseminating ideas and promoting freedom of speech, has spent £28 million in the last eight years ensuring that people who leave will not speak out.
So-called "compromise agreements" have been signed by 539 staff, of whom 14 received more than £300,000 for their silence.
Tony Hall, the new director-general, has ordered pay-offs to be capped at £150,000 from September, but he hasn't said whether confidentiality clauses will continue. Read more
The Economic Times | 25th June 2013
More than 4,000 police officers were disciplined for criminal behaviour in the past five years. They include an inspector who was sacked after being arrested for shoplifting and a PC who resigned after installing a camera in a ladies toilet.
A sergeant in Lancashire was also sacked after he was discovered with three sub-machine guns and ammunition. A colleague from the same force resigned after being caught drug-trafficking. The number of officers found guilty of misconduct has shot up by 56 per cent – from 559 in 2008 to 873 in 2012. In total, 4,115 officers were disciplined over criminal behaviour, of which 643 were dismissed or forced to resign. Read more.
Figures from Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Suffolk, released under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that between 2007 and 2012 a total of 1,032 proceedings were dropped for a range of reasons.
Reasons for cases being scrapped include other sentences, which accounted for 465 dropped prosecutions, a caution being more suitable and the effect on the victim's physical or mental health.
Other reasons given were a long delay between the offence or charge and trial, the age of the offender and "loss or harm put right". Read more
Lauren Everitt | The EADT24 | 25th June 2013
Authorities at GCHQ, the government eavesdropping agency, are facing embarrassing revelations about internal correspondence in which Wikileaksfounder Julian Assange is discussed, apparently including speculation that he is being framed by Swedish authorities seeking his extradition on rape allegations.
The records were revealed by Assange himself in a Sunday night interview with Spanish television programme Salvados in which he explained that an official request for information gave him access to instant messages that remained unclassified by GCHQ.
A message from September 2012, read out by Assange, apparently says: "They are trying to arrest him on suspicion of XYZ … It is definitely a fit-up… Their timings are too convenient right after Cablegate." The messages appear to contain speculation and chatter between GCHQ employees, but Assange gave little further explanation about exactly who they came from. Read more
Giles Tremlett & Ben Quinn | The Guardian | 20th May 2013
Nick Clegg was last night facing fresh pressure over his role in obtaining funding for a charity linked to his wife Miriam after the Liberal Democrat leader's officials were ordered to hand over key emails to Britain's data watchdog.
The demand by Christopher Graham, the Information Commissioner, means the Cabinet Office will be forced to release to him a pile of private correspondence relating to the £12 million Government grant received by Booktrust last year.
The Mail on Sunday revealed in December that the charity received the money after one of Mr Clegg's aides lobbied for it. This meant the grant could be given direct – rather than having to compete with other charities. This newspaper then made a Freedom of Information request to the Government for the release of emails sent between officials relating to the deal. Read more
Glen Owen | The Daily Mail | 19th May 2013
The Department for Work and Pensions has lost a major court battle to keep the locations of thousands of workfare placements secret.
At the end of a freedom of information challenge that has lasted 15 months, Judge David Marks QC ruled that the DWP must publish the names of businesses and charities hosting hundreds of thousands of unemployed people who, in some cases, must undertake weeks of unpaid work as a condition of receiving benefits.
Marks, sitting with two others in the first-tier tribunal, said the DWP had offered "a paucity of compelling economic evidence" to back its claims that organisations involved would be seriously financially damaged by negative publicity campaigns should their identities become public. Read more
Shiv Malik | The Guardian | 19th May 2013
Friends of the former chief whip, who was forced to resign after admitting swearing at police officers in Downing Street, have established that the head of the Metropolitan Police held a meeting with journalists just prior to reports appearing in two newspapers suggesting a police investigation had found no evidence to support Mr Mitchell's version of events.
Details of the meeting emerged after supporters of Mr Mitchell used a Freedom of Information request to ask about Sir Bernard's meeting with reporters. Scotland Yard has confirmed that meetings with journalists took place but has not provided details about what was discussed.
Mr Mitchell stepped down last October after allegations appeared in the press that he had referred to police officers in Downing Street as ******* plebs and morons when they refused to open the main gates to allow him to cycle through. Read more
Martin Evans | The Telegraph | 19th May 2013
The number of people employed by the government to work on the UK's response to the effects of climate change has been cut from 38 officials to just six, triggering accusations that David Cameron's promise to be the greenest government has been abandoned. The UK is facing a multi-billion pound bill over the next few years for the costs of adapting to the effects of climate change – including flooding, much fiercer storms, droughts, heatwaves and more extreme weather.
The government's advisers, the Committee on Climate Change, have warned that the measures needed to prepare the UK's infrastructure will include defences for power stations, transport and communication networks, changes to how buildings are constructed, and new ways of trying to prevent flooding, such as an upgrade to the Thames Barrier.
But the number of officials charged with dealing with the issue within the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has been dramatically reduced. A freedom of information response to a question by Friends of the Earth confirmed the reduction from 38 to six posts. Read more
Fiona Harvey | The Guardian | 17th May 2013
The money is paid out when turbines are spinning but the electricity they are generating is surplus to requirements. Freedom of Information documents reveal that since 2011 more than £26.5million has been paid out under the scheme.
The payments, branded "utterly bonkers" by Conservative MP Chris Heaton-Harris, will enrage consumers facing an effective £100 surcharge on their bills for green energy.
The National Grid makes the payments if wind power is surplus to requirements or cannot be fed to places that need it because of system bottlenecks. Read more
Richard Creasy | The Express | 19th May 2013
The Government has banned gagging orders for NHS employees after it emerged that £18million has been spent on silencing 600 staff. However, a survey using Freedom of Information laws has found that the orders are also widely used across police forces, leading to concerns that whistleblowers are being silenced.
Stephen Barclay, a Conservative member of the Public Accounts Committee, said: "It is very concerning to hear that police officers with issues of concern which are in public interest appear to have been silenced through gagging clauses.
"These agreements have a clear effect beyond those who sign them because other officers with ambition will see what has happened to those who have concerns and decide to stay silent." Read more
Steven Swinford | The Telegraph | 17th May 2013
England's largest local councils spent more than £6 million hosting the Olympic Torch for last year's Games, figures published on the one-year anniversary of the start of the relay show. On average, authorities paid out just over £40,000 to host the flame, funding items such as security and street furniture, as well as road-closure notices and evening celebrations.
The biggest spends were in the London boroughs of Bexley and Waltham Forest, who both forked out in excess of £279,000, while more than a dozen other authorities recorded six-figure sums to host the Torch.
Those councils who enjoyed multiple visits from the iconic flame and its formidable entourage often reported larger spends than those whose glimpse of the parade was fleeting, while larger authorities with huge populations understandably spent more than their smaller counterparts. Read more
The Belfast Telegraph | 19th May 2013
The first I heard of Durham University's sensational decision to splash out millions on a Picasso painting among other new art was when I received this text from my son, who is a student there: "Durham Uni spent £1.4m on art for one of the centres. … Now we know where my £9,000 is going." A few seconds later came another text: "Why do we need it?"
It's the right question to ask and so far Durham's elders have failed to put up a convincing answer, leaving many students wondering if the university is getting too big for its boots in its drive to compete with Oxbridge, even over its art collections. What's interesting about the cynicism of my son – and he says his friends feel the same – is how the punitive cost of soaring tuition fees is turning today's students into bolshie consumers rather than bolshie CND marchers.
How times have changed – twenty years ago no student would have given a toss about what their university was spending on art – or their wine cellars for that matter. So in that sense it's rather heartening to hear that students are still capable of being goaded into action as the cost of the art only came out into the open after Durham's student union put in for a Freedom of Information request; one that was originally refused. Read more
Margareta Pagano | The Independent | 19th May 2013
Police collect a DNA sample from a child every ten minutes, it emerged last night. Officers took nearly 54,000 swabs of genetic material from under 18s last year.
On average, 27 primary school children had their DNA taken by the police every week to put on the national database. The figures were uncovered by anti-prison campaign group the Howard League for Penal Reform using the Freedom of Information Act.
Frances Crook, the league's chief executive, said most children were 'just up to mischief' and it was wrong to treat them like hardened criminals. Read more
Jack Doyle | The Daily Mail | 20th May 2013
More than 1.2 million cases involving claims for disability and unemployment allowances have been taken to the special tribunals since April 2010, latest Ministry of Justice data reveals.
With each case costing an average £377 to process, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act, the bill has been £475million.
Rising unemployment, a large backlog and confusion over welfare reforms and controversial work capability assessments mean that the figure is forecast to hit nearly £1billion by the end of this Parliament in 2015. The numbers were compiled by researchers at ilegal, the internet forum for law specialists. Read more
Ted Jeory | The Express | 19th May 2013
THE Royal Regiment of Scotland have topped a military league of shame which shows they had most positive drugs tests out of the whole British Army. There were 62 positive drugs tests on soldiers from the regiment in 2012, according to newly obtained Ministry of Defence figures.
The military personnel from the regiment – whose motto is Nemo Me Impune Lacessit or no one provokes me with impunity – tested positive for illegal substances including cocaine, cannabis and ecstasy.
The figures – which were revealed in a Freedom of Information request – show that a total of 140,563 tests were carried out on Army, RAF and Royal Navy personnel – with 575 testing positive for Class A, B and C drugs. Read more
Lynn McPherson | The Daily Record | 19th May 2013
Hundreds of people have hired a taxi and made off without paying after being driven to their destination, figures have revealed. Between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2012, a total of 270 'ride and run' incidents were reported in Suffolk, according to a Freedom of Information request.
And now taxi drivers are calling for a crackdown on the problem because they say the true figure will be much higher as many incidents are not reported. John Lloyd, manager of Hawk Express Cabs based in Ipswich, said the issue has become an increasing problem.
"Sometimes the driver reports it to police and they are encouraged to do so," he added. "The police do their best. They take the passenger's address and contact details and try to persuade them to pay with 24 hours and if not, it will be made a criminal offence. Read more
Lauren Everitt | East Anglian Daily Times | 17th May 2013
The Internal Revenue Service denied the existence of any documents related to its policy of targeting Tea Party organizations in response to a 2010 Freedom of Information Act request, even though such documents were later discovered by the IRS inspector general.
The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law, a conservative nonprofit group, filed a FOIA request in 2010 through investigative journalist Lynn K. Walsh seeking all IRS documents related to the agencies tax-exempt division specifically mentioning the Tea Party.
IRS headquarters responded in 2011 that it "found no documents specifically responsive to your request." However, the May 14 inspector general report found that the "first Sensitive Case Report [identifying Tea Party groups] was prepared by the Technical Unit" in April of 2010. Read more
CJ Ciaramella | The Washington Free Beacon | 17th May 2013
The government appears to have left open the door to the resurrection of the controversial "snooper's charter" bill to track everyone's email, internet and mobile text use. Whitehall sources confirmed that the possibility of legislation remains under discussion despite a declaration by Nick Clegg that the communications data legislation "isn't going to happen while Lib Dems are in government".
A Downing Street background briefing note on investigating crime in cyberspace published alongside the Queen's speech says: "We are continuing to look at this issue closely and the government's approach will be proportionate, with robust safeguards in place."
The text of the Queen's speech gives the go-ahead to legislation, if needed, to deal with the limited technical problem of there being many more devices including phones and tablets in use than the number of internet protocol (IP) addresses that allow the police to identify who sent an email or made a Skype call at a given time. Read more
Alan Travis | The Guardian | 8th May 2013
The attorney general, Dominic Grieve, was accused in court on Wednesday of wrongly concealing details of Prince Charles's lobbying campaigns. Grieve last year vetoed the disclosure of a set of "particularly frank" letters written by the prince to government ministers.
On Wednesday, the Guardian launched a lawsuit to overturn the veto after gaining permission from the lord chief justice, Lord Judge, and two senior judges. The legal action to see the royal letters is the first of its kind to be mounted.
Opening the two-day case at the high court, Dinah Rose, QC for the Guardian, said Grieve's use of the veto was fundamentally flawed and legally unjustified. The judicial review is the latest round in an eight-year battle by the newspaper to gain access to the prince's letters to politicians. His letters have been dubbed "black spider memos" because of the prince's handwriting. Read more
Rob Evans | The Guardian | 9th May 2013
Last year, universities reported 106,698 cases where they suspected a foreign student was misusing their visa but only 153 ended in the suspect being deported. Of the 106,000 reported cases, the UK Border Agency only investigated 658 individuals, it was found.
The figures, released under a Freedom of Information request, come following Home Office pressure to clamp down on bogus students entering Britain.
In December, Theresa May, the Home Secretary, announced that consular staff would interview more than 100,000 prospective students in an attempt to prevent fake applicants entering the country. Read more
Amy Willis | The Telegraph | 7th May 2013
A free, confidential hotline for NHS whistleblowers has not been promoted well enough, it has been claimed. Labour's health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said staff "don't seem to be aware" of the number.
Her claim came after a Scottish Labour freedom of information request found just 16 NHS whistle blowers had come forward in the past five years. Ministers said the hotline had been well promoted and they "expected health boards to listen to staff".
Ms Baillie said she welcomed the phone number – 0800 008 6112 – being established, but she believed the government needed to do more to make sure its policy was effective. Read more
BBC | 8th May 2013
WASHINGTON – A group of bankers that advises the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors has warned that farmland prices are inflating "a bubble" and growth in student-loan debt has "parallels to the housing crisis."
The concerns of the Federal Advisory Council, made up of 12 bankers who meet quarterly to advise the Fed, are outlined in meeting minutes obtained by Bloomberg through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Their alarm adds to a debate on the Federal Open Market Committee about whether the benefits from their monthly purchases of $85 billion in bonds outweigh the risk of financial instability. Read more
Joshua Zumbrun & Craig Torres | Bloomberg News | 7th May 2013
The police are dealing with as many as one in eight violent offences, including knife crimes and domestic violence, by getting the offender to apologise to the victim rather than prosecuting them in court, according to House of Commons research.
The shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, says that Freedom of Information Act requests show a steep rise in the number of serious crimes being dealt with by community resolution methods, such as restorative justice, since a 20% cut in Whitehall grants to the police began to bite in 2010.
The House of Commons library figures show that up to 14% of recorded violent offences are being dealt with in this way by some forces instead of being prosecuted in the courts. The number of cases has risen from 13,420 in 2009 to 22,733 in 2010 and reached 33,673 last year. The 2012 figures include 10,160 offences involving serious injury being dealt with in this way. Read more
Alan Travis | The Guardian | 30th April 2013
The UK pays almost £1billion a year to cover the healthcare costs of Britons who fall ill on the continent – but receives only a fraction of that for NHS treatment of European visitors. Official figures show that last year taxpayers handed £903.4million to European governments and insurance providers to pay for the care of Britons.
But the NHS managed to collect only £48.7million from the same European countries to pay for the care of their citizens who fall ill here. It means that for every £18 the UK sends to Europe to pay for healthcare, it gets only £1 back.
The figures underline how ineffective NHS hospitals are at clawing back money they are owed compared with those in Europe, amid claims that 'health tourism' costs British taxpayers billions a year. Many NHS trusts do not even keep records of debt. Read more
Daniel Martin | The Daily Mail | 29th April 2013
Finance Wales has responded to criticism that the amount it invests into small businesses has fallen since 2009 by saying its investments have actually risen within the last year.
Plaid Cymru said that a Freedom of Information request by one of its AMs revealed that in its last financial year 2012-13, investment by Finance Wales was nearly £10m less than three years before.
The party said the funding figures released by Finance Wales highlight the need for a Welsh Government-owned Bank of Wales to be established. Read more
Chris Kelsey | Wales Online | 29th April 2013
Bradford Bulls is one of only three businesses in the city to be given a commercial loan from Bradford Council, which confirmed it has lent companies more than £6 million of taxpayers' money over the last four years.
Responding to a request under the Freedom of Information Act, the authority confirmed it had negotiated commercial loans with a total of £6.35 million with three firms in the district between 2009 and 2013, with interest rates of between 2.5 per cent and 22.2 per cent.
It refused to reveal the amount of each individual loan, or who it had been made to, but the Telegraph & Argus last month reported how the Bulls had been granted a £200,000 commercial loan, which must be paid back with interest. Read more
Bradford Telegraph and Argus | 29th April 2013
Reporters Without Borders firmly condemns yesterday's decision by Iraq's Media and Communications Commission to suspend the licences of 10 foreign-based satellite TV channels for "inciting violence and sectarianism."
"This draconian and disproportionate decision has seriously endangered freedom of information," Reporters Without Borders said. "Although the media must act responsibly, they are just doing their job when they cover Iraq's current serious divisions and tension. "
"We urge the Media and Communications Commission to quickly rescind this decision and to allow the media to cover all developments of general interest throughout the country." Read more
Reporters Without Borders | 29th April 2013
Jesper Tynell, Oluf Jørgensen, Pernille Boye Koch and Lars Rugaard are a few of the impressive list of academics, politicians and award-winning journalists who tenaciously oppose the new freedom of information act,offentlighedsloven, presented by the government.
Their biggest and most valid arguments have been that the new law, especially sections 24 and 27, would create a political vacuum where no one, journalists or otherwise, could control whether public officials and politicians were doing their job well enough, telling the truth, withholding vital information or abusing their power.
The main theme in the new freedom of information act is the political argument based (so the government says) on the idea that officials need to be able to work with the government without being disturbed by the media. Read more
Gertrud Christensen | The Copenhagen Post | 29th April 2013
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that it's legal for a state to limit use of its Freedom of Information Act to its own residents.
The court unanimously upheld a federal appeals court decision validating Virginia's limitation of its FOIA law to state citizens and some media outlets.
In the case before the court, Rhode Island resident Mark J. McBurney and California resident Roger W. Hurlbert were suing Virginia for blocking them from getting public documents in Virginia that in-state citizens could have easily obtained. Virginia's FOIA law limits access to state citizens and some media outlets. Read more
The Washington Post | 29th April 2013


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BASALT - Four years after anglers started hauling in perch from Ruedi Reservoir, a seasoned fisherman caught what he believes was a bass there Wednesday.
Marco de la Espriella said a juvenile fish, maybe 5 inches long, aggressively went after a spoon lure that was about half the fish's size. At first, he thought it was a tilapia but after reflection, he suspected that it was a bass.
"I've been fishing for 25 years, and I definitely know my fish," de la Espriella said. "I can assure you it's not a trout."
De la Espriella was fishing with his mom where the Upper Fryingpan River enters Ruedi Reservoir, on the far eastern side by Dearhamer campground. De la Espriella threw the fish back in the water. They didn't take a picture of it.
He and his mom researched freshwater fish via the Internet Thursday night and concluded that the fish he caught most likely was a smallmouth bass, based on the jawline. De la Espriella lives in Costa Rica, where he fishes extensively. He said the fish he caught at Ruedi resembles what's known as a "guapote" in Costa Rica. That fish is called a rainbow bass in the U.S., he said, though what he caught more closely resembled a smallmouth rather than a rainbow bass, based on images.
"The only reason we are not 100 percent sure that it is the smallmouth bass is because the one I caught had less stripes," de la Espriella said, referring to a picture he saw of an adult smallmouth bass. "The one I caught had only two or three vertical stripes, but that could be because it was an infant."
Kirk Webb, a fishing guide with Taylor Creek Fly Shop in Basalt, said it's plausible that someone could have illegally stocked smallmouth bass and they are surviving in the relatively warm water of the reservoir. While bass are an invasive species, he believes there is little chance they will pose a threat to the other fish in the reservoir. Colorado Parks and Wildlife stocks Ruedi with lake trout and kokanee salmon. Webb noted there are countless lakes in Minnesota and Michigan where multiple species of fish co-exist.
The bass also don't pose a threat to the gold-medal trout fishing waters of the lower Fryingpan River in Webb's estimation. The river water is too cold for the bass to reproduce, so they would die out if some got past the dam, he said.
When perch were discovered in Ruedi in August 2008, officials with the Colorado Division of Wildlife, now part of Colorado Parks and Wildlife, said the danger was the perch competing with trout for a limited food supply at the reservoir.
Neither perch nor smallmouth bass are stocked at Ruedi Reservoir, said Mike Porras, a spokesman for the agency. There are cases in Colorado where anglers have intentionally stocked waterways with an invasive species or they allowed it to happen by using bait fish. Either way, it's illegal and can result in a fine and loss of hunting and fishing privileges.
"We call those people bucket biologists, and it's not a term of endearment," Porras said. He stressed that he wasn't commenting specifically on Ruedi Reservoir. The agency hasn't detected the presence of smallmouth bass there, he said.
De la Espriella said his concern is the smallmouth will eat the more desirable lake trout, based on the aggressiveness of the small fish he caught. "Those fish will go after anything," he said.


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PHOTO: T&T's new hero
Trinidad and Tobago's latest sporting hero, Kershorn Walcott (right), stands with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Olympian Hasley Crawford, the 1976 Montreal Olympics 100m champion, at Piarco International Airport in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad yesterday. Walcott, who pulled off a stunning upset by winning the men's javelin throw at the just concluded London Olympics, was welcomed home by thousands of Trinidadians and showered with gifts by the Government. See story on Page 31


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You are viewing the Color by Number Collection
Watercolor Paint by Number: Dinosaur
Topics : Kindergarten, Counting & Numbers, Color by Number
This dinosaur scene is in the need of some color—watercolor that is! Print out this sheet to give your child some prehistoric fun. As she paints, she'll boost color and number recognition, and she'll even try out some color mixing, too.
Check out the rest of the series here.
Updated on Aug 26, 2010


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1Kat Von D and Jesse James Are Finished, For Real This Time
Did you even know Kat Von D and Jesse James were together again? No? Well, they were. And now they're not.
And if you thought they were, in fact, still a couple, Miss Von D understands your confusion. She clarified the whole romantic jumble to her fans on Facebook last night:
"I am not in a relationship. And I apologize for all the 'back and forth' if it's caused any confusion."
This is the second time the inked couple has broken their engagement, and only in a matter of months.
Honestly? I sincerely don't want to be too mean about this, because I am starting to feel for the lady, but everything Von D types no longer passes the Bechdel Test.
September 25, 2011 at 9:30 am by Jenn
7Thank Goodness: Kat Von D and Jesse James Are Back On!
After a whirlwind courtship, a public breakup, a handful of rumors of infidelity, and a major drop in relevance, those two lovebirds, Kat Von D and Jesse James, have found their way back to each other's arms. Praise God and pass the ammunition! Wait, on second thought, no, don't do that, let's not involve firearms. Let's just clap politely.
Here's what Jesse has to say about the couple's reconciliation:
"Sometimes you are only given one chance in life," he says. "It was up to me to open my eyes and see it. That girl is my chance. I will never stop fighting and striving to hold on to her. Showing her how special she is, and how much I love her."
And that would be so sweet, it really would, except for all that stuff about Hitler and Sandra Bullock. But hey, we can rejoice in the fact that these two found love in one another, right?
August 19, 2011 at 4:30 am by Emily
1Quotables: Kat Von D Makes Me Saddish
"He had a rough childhood, so to see what he's become from there, it's amazing. That's why I wanted the picture of him as a child, to capture that certain innocence. It was good having him beside me while we finished. The tattoo is a way of him recognizing somebody loves him."
Kat Von D, on the topic of her most recent tattoo – a rendering of her ex-boyfriend's face as a child. I mean, I'm not going to touch the "[amazing] to see what he's become from there part," because I don't want to turn this post into a rude one out of respect for someone who's apparently hurting over something that someone did (even though it's not, you know, entirely surprising, based on the history there), but it's sad to see that Von D is so publicly grieving her relationship with Jesse. Her pain, though incomprehensible, is evidently real, and that just further reinforces my idea of Jesse James as a total toolkitting, douche-nozzling waste of skin and teeth.
July 29, 2011 at 3:30 pm by Sarah
1Wait, You Mean Jesse James Might Have CHEATED on Kat Von D?!
I am truly shocked. I am shocked and appalled and dismayed by the notion that Jesse James might have actually slept around with other ladies while engaged to Kat Von D, and that's the reason that they broke up. Here, read the full story from Radar while I gather myself:
According to an eyewitness, Jesse and Kat had a verbal argument outside of her Los Angeles, California, home Monday afternoon about another woman before Kat finally told him to leave.
"They were outside and I could hear them fighting. Kat kept throwing some woman's name out and arguing about how she didn't like him living so far away," the source exclusively told RadarOnline.com.
"Jesse finally said, 'Fine, f*ck you!' and sped away on his motorcycle. Kat sat in her Bentley with her head on the steering wheel for about three minutes before finally driving away."
"It was clear from the tone of the conversation that Kat was accusing Jesse of something with this other woman," the eyewitness said.
Honestly, you think you know somebody and then something like this happens. Who are we supposed to trust in this world? Who are we supposed to look up to in these trying times? Who didn't see this coming from a zillion miles away?
July 28, 2011 at 2:30 pm by Emily
2Kat Von D: "Jesse James and I Are Over."
Aw, poor Jesse James – he just can't catch a break! First, he loses his Oscar-winning wife, then everybody just hates him, which I'm sure probably broke his little heart, and now? The woman who promised to promise to be by his side 'til his dying day? Is announcing on Twitter that she and him are no longer an item:
"I am no longer w Jesse, and out of respect for him, his family and myself, thats all the info I'd like to share. Thanks for respecting that."
Well balls, lady. That's "all the info" you'd like to share? Sorry, but I just can't swallow that bitter little pill on its own. You know you're itching to tell us what the hell went down to make you abandon (?) your publicity cow, and for the cow to willingly let go of the only free milk it's probably ever going to get. Like, ever again in life. Does your mama know about this yet? I mean, Jesse himself might not even be privy to this information right now. I always questioned whether he was really able to read* or not.
Regardless. I think both of you are total twats, and on the whole neither of you really affect my day to day business
like Adrien Brody does, but for the sake of doing my job properly and thoroughly, I've just got to know what really happened here, you know?
*UPDATE: Actually, yes, it appears he can – he was quoted in People as saying:
"I'm so sad because I really love her," James tells PEOPLE exclusively. "The distance between us was just too much."
July 26, 2011 at 5:30 am by Sarah
5Jesse James Is Totally Cool, You Guys
I woke up last night in a cold sweat. I sat up in the pitch-black darkness, pressing my clammy fingers against my damp brow. I dabbed at my forehead with the sheet—Egyptian Pima, 300-count—as I tried to catch my breath. Oh! Oh, God! I thought to myself. Oh, God! I hope Jesse James is okay.
I needn't have worried! According to the NY Daily News, Jesse James phoned into Australia's Kyle and Jackie O Show, as part of his American Outlaw promotional rounds, and assured the radio hosts he is doing just fine:
When asked whether or not he forgave himself for cheating on Bullock with reportedly seven women over the course of their marriage, James, 42, replied, "Oh yeah. I'm cool."
Wow. Jesse James is so strong. It must take an entire catalogue of moral virtues—like acceptance, mercy, resilience, and emotional generosity—to be able to forgive himself so quickly, and with such certainty!
James also said,
Yes, I cheated on my wife, but so do a lot of other people. Does that mean I'm the devil? Or that I'm Satan? I don't think so. I made a mistake and I'm sorry for it, but I owned up to it.
Something about that quote rings jarringly familiar…! Ah, yes. From May of this year: "I never shied away from anything I did. I took full responsibility. I cheated on my wife. Guess what? So do millions of other men."
Oh, Jesse James! If only everyone else could stop self-flagellating over itty-bitty mistakes and learn, instead, to
rationalize a total lack of transcend ordinary human crutches like guilt, restraint, fidelity, and integrity.


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Forest Small World
I love creating small worlds for my son and my home daycare kids. I often put them together after my son has gone to bed so that he can discover them in the morning. Although it's fun for him to be surprised with a little play scene I wanted to give him and the little ones in my care the opportunity to create their own small world.
I recently read a fantastic post from Stephanie at Twodaloo about building language with small world play. In addition to reminding me of the benefits of children having a hand in the creation of small worlds, the post also reminded me that with young children it is often best to base small worlds on settings and experiences familiar to them. With those considerations in mind I gathered items for a simple forest small world based on the type of forest found in our part of the country.
I dug two deer (a buck and a fawn) out of our toy bins and rounded up objects from our nature collection. Adding sticks, rocks, pinecones, and pine needles to this forest small world gave it the touch of realism it needed and also made it pleasing to the senses.
Unfortunately I don't have many pictures of the kids interacting with our little forest so I'll do my best to explain how they played. I presented them with the tray, which held the deer and some brown play dough, and a wooden bowl, which contained our natural materials. I also gave them several plastic "trees" which I pulled out of a topiary ball I got from the dollar store and that we used in our Spring Sensory Bin.
Their first course of action was to stick all the small objects into the play dough. Pushing things into play dough is always a satisfying tactile activity for toddlers and preschoolers. I made our mud play dough by adding cocoa powder to my go-to recipe from playdoughrecipe.com.
Then there was lots of talk of the "Daddy" deer and the "baby" deer being stuck in the mud. Getting stuck in the mud is a popular theme around here and the kids often pretend to fall into imaginary patches of mud and then hose each other off with things like paper towel tubes or my son's toy screw driver.
I gave them a little person toy and my son made up a short story about him walking in the woods. I pointed out that the little boy had to walk carefully over sticks and rocks and around trees just like we do when we're playing in the woods.
Our little friend (age 2.5) was concerned about the mud sticking to the fawn's hooves and she attempted to clean him up by scraping the play dough off with a stick. I thought this was a smart solution!
For more small world fun, please see our small world category or my Sensory and Small World Pinterest board.
If this is your first visit to My Nearest and Dearest I'd love to have you follow along by subscribing by email (simply enter your email address in the box at the top right corner of our home page). You can also find us on Facebook and Google+ where we regularly share ideas for play based learning, connecting with your family, and good old-fashioned fun.
Thanks for reading!


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For more than twenty years - Glynn Jackson's "Golden Scissors Awards" has been the premiere event for aspiring hairstylists, barbers and fashion designers.
This morning Holly is getting a look at look at some of the new styles and trends to hit the runway.
LINK: http://www.goldenscissorsawards.com
WTTG FOX 5 & myfoxdc5151 Wisconsin Ave. NWWashington, DC 20016Main Number: (202) 244-5151Newsroom: (202) email@example.com


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Labor Day Liturgies
On U.S. Labor Day, we honor the contributions and sacrifices of workers. Find worship resources to help your congregation celebrate workers as well as remember those seeking work. Read More
Worship from the eyes of a child
Linda Ranson Jacobs' idea to take her small grandson through her church's sanctuary, explaining what each area was, had some very positive results. Read More
Ebola: Texting hope and busting myths
Larry Hollon explains how a history-making text message from Bishop John Innis to people in Liberia can reach people across broad distances and help save lives. Read More
Spiritual Living
Creating sacred space anywhere you are
For anyone going away to college, to a new job or just experiencing change, making your home a haven helps ease the transition. Read More
Back to School Season
Featured Topic: Education
Find prayers, resources, stories and information to support schools and students. More
Cool Ideas
Church youth grow veggies for low-income families
'I like that it feeds the people who don't have food every night.' Summer program helps children learn about helping others. Read More
What does the church say about suicide?
As the world community discusses the devastating effects of depression, the Christian faith reminds us that nothing can separate us from God's love. More
Across the Globe
Ukrainian United Methodists feel strain of war
Members of two United Methodist churches in Eastern Ukraine continue to feel the impact of fighting between rebels and Ukrainian military forces. Read More
For Reflection
We are all St. Louisans now
St.Louis area bloggers respond to the police shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown. 'When one of us hurts, we all hurt.' Read More
Commentary: Robin Williams' death once could have been mine
The constant threat of depression haunts my days, writes Cynthia Astle. She shares how the church has helped her. Read More
Three things youth can do about ISIS and Ebola
Jeremy Steele says reading about tragic situations can make us feel like there's nothing we can do. But that's not the case. Read More
Timely Information
Border crisis: Resources for a faithful response
The United Methodist Church is providing care, legal counsel, and resources to minors fleeing to the U.S. from Central America. Learn how to help. More
Daily Devotional
See today's food for thought from the Upper Room. Visit Site
Moment in History
'In Mississippi I learned what church is'
The Rev. George D. McClain remembers the 1964 Freedom Summer as beginning of his theological education. Read More
In Depth
Featured Topic: Homosexuality
Learn more about the official position of the church, read personal opinions and view other resources and headlines on the subject of sexuality. More
For Reflection
Six stress management tips for seniors
Retirement may be a time to relax and enjoy life but it can also bring new concerns. Find ways to "let go." Read More
Video Worth Watching
UMTV: The Jousting Pastor
Before Rev. Gene Martino became a jouster he had not spent much time in a saddle. Now he says his relationship with horses has benefited his relationship with his flock. View
You Can Help
A boost for girls in South Sudan
Educating young women is a proven way to help lift communities out of poverty. Learn about a new project aimed at transforming lives. Read More
News You Can Use
Tips for enhancing your church's online presence
From outdoor signs to submitting your address to search engines, find ways to help potential members find your website - and you. Read More


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Kenzo celebrated its 40th birthday with an homage by designer Antonio Marras to the DNA of the label. Its spring summer 2011 collection was held in the opulent surroundings of the Cirque d'Hiver and the packed auditorium witnessed quite a show.
It started with the official collection that will be on sale next season. This was inspired by Sardinia, an island that - according to the show notes - is so mysterious and isolated that 'one would think it was Japan'. Sardinian layering was designed to resemble traditional Japanese dress and rusty and jade tones along with heavily embroidered linen, silks and tulle hung long and loose above wedge platforms. But it was the finale that made it such a celebratory event.
By looking through the archive, Marras had married Kenzo's design history with that of Japan's. The result was 40 costumes worthy of a Kabuki theatre, each one representing a different stage for Kenzo but also a different era or country around the world. One looked Peruvian, one Victorian, another west African but dressed with the elaborate layers of Japan. The world was unified by way of Kenzo. It was a joy to behold such craftsmanship and detail in an era of fast fashion and a season of less-is-more.


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Google Earth is one of my favorite programs. It lets you explore the work through satellite and ground-level photos. You can see historic landmarks or plan trips.
Now, you can get the same amazing experience on your mobile gadget with the Google Earth app. It lets you get the same satellite photos and landmarks. On some gadgets you can even get 3-D buildings for cities.


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LAS VEGAS - The United Way is at the forefront of helping poverty-stricken Las Vegans recovering from the recession. For the first time in five years, the valley is getting a new look into the needs of the city with the release of a new survey.
The United Way of Southern Nevada surveyed 900 Clark County residents, including those seeking help at Clark County Social Service.
Read the United Way Community Assessment Survey
It's no surprise nearly half of those surveyed had a person in their household unemployed within the last year. When asked why, however, the answers get interesting. Middle income people blame the recession for unemployment. Poorer families blame a lack of available job training.
"What it really tells us is community colleges… we need more job curriculum in the community colleges," said United Way of Southern Nevada CEO Cass Palmer.
Nearly half of lower-income families surveyed believe they live in unsafe neighborhoods. When asked how many have actually been victims of crime, the numbers aren't much higher than middle income families. The at-risk population is afraid of crime, but they aren't experiencing it more than anybody else.
"It's the perception of being in an unsafe area," explained Palmer.
People fear crashing on our roads almost as much as home invasion robberies.
When people get sick, lower income families say the University Medical Center Emergency Department is by far their number one option. More alarming, a small but noticeable portion of lower-income people said suicide was their choice if they need to see a doctor.
In 2007, when the city was booming and nearly everybody could find a job, top concerns included stopping smoking, home repairs and not having enough extra money. All those concerns fell off the radar of southern Nevada residents once the economy crashed.
Education has always been an issue in southern Nevada. While community leaders surveyed say resources should go to raise high school graduation scores, lower-income parents disagree. They say elementary reading and math skills should get top focus.
They seem to be conflicted, however, of how much attention they give to their kids' schoolwork. At-risk parents believe that they are taking care of their child's educational needs as best as they can, but they think everybody else is really terrible at it.
"I found that data point fascinating myself. Everybody is throwing the stone in a different way," Palmer said.
Most of the problems facing lower income families that were highlighted in this survey may have common sense solutions. Even social service professionals, however, can be surprised about what they find when they ask those who need the most help.


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Rolex Rankings #2
Rolex Rankings #30
Will Lydia Ko defend her title?
Will Suzann Pettersen defend her title?
Park putting her way up the career Majors list
The Social Scene for August, 2014
Christina Kim sits down with Golf Channel during the first round of the North Texas LPGA Shootout.


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Notes taken by Wendy Law. If you were also at this discussion, please feel free to send in any notes you made or add them to the comments.
Q Re: Creative Scotland – Are the right people making the decisions?
Do they have the specialist expertise needed to ensure funding supports talent development and quality work?
A – There appears to be no external specialist art form expertise brought in to the process (see below)
Q How are the decisions being made?
What is the process? And is that process made clear to the public
A CS person was on hand to answer some of the questions.
When asked, not one member in the open space group knew how decisions were made as this information was not in the public domain.
The decision making process is not publicised on the CS website (publicly accountable?). The website is to be updated. The publication of grant figures has recently been made available but without reference to the art form they come under – a member of the group cited only 4 out of 158 grants had gone to dance.
Artists and others have picked up anecdotally about how some decisions are made.
We were told:
A Applications are looked at by CS Development Officers, Recommendations go to CS `Portfolio' Managers and are then sent to the Director of Creative Development for signing off.
A The use of specialist advisers sometimes (capacity allowing??)
(Q Who are the specialist advisers? what are their credentials? what is the process of recruitment and turn around?)
Q Where are ARTISTS in Creative Scotland's decision making process ?
Artists don't appear to be anywhere in the decision making process
In addition to the above, another question was raised:
Q Who decides and develops the priorities (and policies) for the Funding Schemes?
Comments made:
The specific issues:
The decision making process on funding is not publicly transparent
The decision making process does not appear to include external expertise (those experts who deliver on the ground)
The decision making process does not include artists
The decision making process is not art form specific but `Scheme' specific
The decision making process does not seem to include rigorous debate
The decision making process seems geared to a one size fits all approach – when the arts require a nuanced and bespoke understanding and application.
The funding schemes are confusing – Artists self exclude because they do not understand the schemes and find it difficult to access guidance and people in CS.
Artists do not have the information they need when they need it
Organisations and artists concerned those making the decisions may well never have seen the work or have an understanding of the context geographic/artistic/social etc in which it sits.
Artists can do more by self organising (as in Open Space) and connecting with networks to be a stronger voice.
The wider issues:
The lack of prioritisation of the developmental role of Creative Scotland – the need for funding support along the way, ie: the stages in the trajectory of the artist's career or in growing an innovative and risk taking organisations.
All serious issues that affect artists and need to be addressed. The solutions are straight forward, however, are they in accord with the ethos and motivation of CS as an organisation?
Discussion attended by (if your name has been omitted or listed incorrectly please comment):
Jo King
Judith Doherty
Harry Wilks(sp)
Gillian Morrison
Hazel Darwin-Edwards
Brian Ferguson (Scotsman)
David Kettle
Holly Patrick
Isabella Jarrett
Morna Young
Emanuel McKee
Wendy Law
Robbie Synge
Hazel du Bourdiu
Scott Kyle
Morvern Cunningham
Kraig Walker
Iain Munro (CS)
Lynda Graham


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When are your opening times?
- Kids Go Wild is open 7 days a week. Mon to sat 10am till 6pm. Sundays 10am till 5pm
to change on faqs page:
Are you open on bank holidays ?
- Yes we are open all year round including Ramadhaan and all school holidays.
- We are only closed for the first day of Eid ul adha and Eid ul fitr
What age do Kids Go Wild cater for ?
- The playcentre is suitable for children from birth to 9 years.
What should my child wear to play on the equipment ?
- We strongly recommend that your child wears long sleeved tops and trousers. Socks must be worn at all times to maintain a high level of hygiene. Shoes are not allowed on the play equipment.
Who can use the cafe ?
- Adults and children accompanied by parents/guardians.
Can we bring our own food and drink ?
- No, for health and safety reasons we do not allow food to be bought from outside with the exception of baby milk and baby food. We have an on site cafe that serves a wide variety of freshly made 100% halal healthy food.
Are photos or videos allowed to be taken at Kids Go Wild ?
- No we do not allow photos or videos to be taken on site.
Do you have a drop off facility ?
- Not currently but we are looking into providing this in the near future so look out for updates on our home page or follow us on facebook and twitter.
Do you have a car park facility ?
- Yes, we have a large car park to make it easy for both adults and children to gain access to our centre.
Are adults allowed on the play frame ?
- Absolutely as long as the centre is not too busy.


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Cops' Corner 06.04.09
Date: June 4, 2009
by: The Observer Staff
The following information was gathered from incident and arrest reports obtained from the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.
Reported May 15
11 p.m. — 14200 block of Gnatcatcher Terrace. Burglary. Unknown person(s) entered the victim's open garage and stole $426 in items. The person(s) then fled in an unknown direction by unknown means.
Reported May 20
4:10 p.m. — 6500 block of Anchor Loop. Identity theft. The victim reported an unknown person opened up a cell phone account in his name. He stated that he received a letter from collections in the amount of $364.79.
May 22
7:20 a.m. — 5500 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. (Lakewood Ranch High). Criminal mischief. Unknown person(s) vandalized the victim's vehicle by puncturing the two passenger side tires with a sharp object. The person(s) then fled the scene. The vehicle was parked in the Manatee County Parks and Recreation tennis courts parking lot at the time of the incident, and the damage is estimated at $500.
May 23
2:50 p.m. — 8330 Market St. (Publix). Uttering a forged bill. An unknown suspect reportedly passed an altered bill to one of the cashiers. The bill was really a $5 bill, but it had been altered to a $100 bill. The suspect then fled in an unknown direction by unknown means.
8 p.m. — 300 block of Snapdragon Loop. Burglary. Unknown person(s) entered the victim's unlocked vehicle and stole a wallet and an iPod accessory. Two latent prints were lifted from the vehicle, and potential suspects were developed. The value of the stolen items is $150.
May 24
4 p.m. — 300 block of Snapdragon Loop. Burglary. Unknown person(s) entered the complainant's back screened-in porch by cutting a hole in the screen. The suspect stole $40 of alcohol from the outside refrigerator.
Reported May 25
10:56 p.m. — 7400 block of Vista Way. Burglary to an unoccupied dwelling. Unknown person(s) entered the victim's residence and stole about $1,015 of property. The victim does not live at the residence.
May 22
5 p.m. — 6602 Drewrys Bluff (Tara Golf and Country Club). Burglary to an unoccupied conveyance. Unknown person(s) used unknown tools to force entry into a parts trailer belonging to the Total Golf Construction. Once inside, the person(s) removed a saw valued at $1,800. Four latent fingerprint cards were removed from the trailer's exterior.
May 20
12:32 p.m. — 7365 52nd Place E. (Bealls). Retail theft. The female suspect reportedly entered the store and selected 13 women's garments. She proceeded to the fitting room and concealed the items in her purse. The suspect then exited the store without paying for the items. Loss prevention detained the suspect and all of the merchandise was recovered. The suspect was issued a notice to appear.
May 25
4:50 p.m. — 7365 52nd Place E. (Bealls). Retail petit theft. The suspect was observed selecting a pair of shoes, putting the shoes on her feet and placing her shoes in her purse. The suspect then proceeded to exit store, passing all points of sale and failing to pay for the shoes. The suspect was apprehended outside of the store by loss prevention and later arrested and transported to the Manatee County Jail.
Currently 0 Responses
- Sep
9 Early Fall Gently Used Book Sale
10:00 am - 3:00 pm
- Sep
17 Women's Council of Realtors Fashion Show
11:00 am
- Sep
27 Health & Wellness Expo
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
- Sep
27 Health & Wellness Expo-LWR
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
Students make splash for school
Lakewood Ranch Community Activities Corp. this weekend will celebrate the start of school with its annual Back to School Splash Bash event Aug. 23, at the Lakewood Ranch YMCA, 5100 Lakewood Ranch Blvd.
Klauber, Mancini honored by AJC
The West Coast Florida Region of AJC (American Jewish Committee) will honor Michael Klauber and Phil Mancini, of Michael's On East, in November.
Temples share the Torah
Twenty-three years ago, Temple Sinai received a Torah on loan when it organized a new congregation in Sarasota.


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|Project by RS Woodworks
|posted 1736 days ago
|1799 views
|4 times favorited
|12 comments
Hello, it seems there is very often bandsaw boxes posted on here. Some are mediocre at best, some are really amazingly good. Hopefully, mine fits somewhere in between there!
This is my first real attempt at a bandsaw box. The body is solid hard maple, and the handles are purpleheart.
This is also my first ever attempt at flocking. It's pretty fool proof and turned out very well.
The top drawer is a single compartment, and the bottom drawer has 2.
The whole thing is about 11" long, 5" wide, and 5" tall (roughly).
The finish is just simple Danish oil.
Thanks for looking and posting your comments.
-- I restore the finest vintage tools! If you need a nice plane, saw, marking tool or brace, please let me know!
12 comments so far
#1 posted 1736 days ago
Very very very nice projet and good job
I like a lot
Can you explain how you do that ?
I want to do this but I don't know the thenic
Thanks for you response
-- Diggerjack-France ---The only limit is the limit of the mind and the mind has no limit
#2 posted 1735 days ago
Excellent, Boom.
I'm glad to hear the flocking was fairly easy. I've been wanting to try it on some of my boxes, but was afraid it would be a messy disaster.
-- Charlie M. "Woodworking - patience = firewood"
#3 posted 1735 days ago
Looks good to me! Oh, and I make a point of adding anyone named "Ryan" to my buddy list… Guys named Ryan who do woodworking need to band together! Consider yourself added…
-- Ryno
#4 posted 1735 days ago
Thanks guys,
Charlie, the flocking really was very easy, just follow the directions exactly and tape off anywhere you don't want the adhesive to be.
Ryan, you bet!
-- I restore the finest vintage tools! If you need a nice plane, saw, marking tool or brace, please let me know!
#5 posted 1735 days ago
Nice first attempt..fine variation on a classic Lois Ventura Design,
-- Drink twice... and don't bother to cut... @ lazylarrywoodworks.com.au For lovers of all things timber...
#6 posted 1735 days ago
beautiful first box… may there be many more to come!
-- "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good." Voltaire
#7 posted 1735 days ago
Bravo next year will start to make some of those too,(kind of tired of my turn boxes,lol) very well done my friend
#8 posted 1735 days ago
Looks great! I have been thinking about trying to make one of these myself.
-- Mike - Woodworking rookie from NC
#9 posted 1735 days ago
Looks real good to me. I can only hope my first one will turn out as well, still getting used to the bandsaw for now.
-- Chris L. "Don't Dream it, Be it."- PortablePastimes.com (Purveyors of Portable Fun and Fidgets)
#10 posted 1735 days ago
#11 posted 1735 days ago
Looks great, My first and only attempt I burned, total failure.
-- Mike, Bruce Mississippi = Jack of many trades master of none
#12 posted 1553 days ago
First huh? Looks good to me.
-- Ken, "Everyday above ground is a good day!"
Have your say...
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text:
We are sure that all members of the Commission on Human Rights, and all observers of its work, know that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and all its member National Societies around the world, have a profound concern for vulnerable groups and individuals. Our daily work, everywhere in the world, is based around the need to provide support and protection for the most vulnerable.
In this context, we cherish the hope that our interventions in this Commission's deliberations, backed as they are by the dialogue which our National Societies maintain with governments at all levels in their countries, will help make a difference to the plight of the most vulnerable.
The fact is, however, that the numbers of people rendered vulnerable by disaster, disease, neglect, discrimination or other factors continues to grow.
We have spoken under other items during this Commission Session to point to some of our concerns, and will not repeat those comments here. We do, however, wish to underline now our concerns for some other groups meriting particular concern.
One such is people who are marginalised because they live outside their country of nationality. We do not wish to get into a sterile legalistic argument about how they got there - whether as migrants, guest workers, refugees, asylum seekers, trafficked persons, etc - but about the continuing basic obligations governments must meet with respect to the dignity and well-being of the persons themselves.
Another such group includes the victims of disasters who find themselves forgotten and marginalised once media attention is lifted from the cause of their suffering and support moves on elsewhere, following the cameras. In our view, the people who continue to suffer in situations where the circumstances which plunged them into suffering have been forgotten are a group which urgently needs the attention of this Commission and the Office of the High Commissioner.
In other words, we cannot allow fatigue to overwhelm our concern for the suffering of people who have already been marginalised by the nature of their disaster. We all know that the impact of so-called "donor fatigue" has created its own continuing humanitarian emergency for some people, and we welcome the work of the UN's Emergency Relief Coordinator to address this problem. It is our hope that the Office of the High Commissioner will take the same action in the field of human rights support.
It is not the business of the International Federation or National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to name names in a debate of this kind. We do, however, sense that one of the reasons for the emphasis the Millennium Development Goals places on so many issues of basic human rights concern is that without that emphasis the gravity of the deprivation of the people themselves would continue to lie in the background, forgotten or unattended.
These are issues which have to do with the core of the responsibility accepted by all States and National Societies at the 28th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in December last year. At that Conference, States and National Societies committed themselves "to protect human dignity in all circumstances by enhancing respect for the relevant law and reducing the vulnerability of populations to the effects of armed conflicts, disasters and diseases". This was phrased as a recommitment, and both States and National Societies agreed on a mechanism to monitor the implementation of it and the other commitments made in the Agenda for Humanitarian Action adopted at the Conference.
We first addressed the issues of marginalised communities in a useful debate conducted in the Commission for Social Development in New York in January this year, on the topic of improving public sector effectiveness. The Secretary-General's report to that Commission put the issues of marginalisation and accompanying vulnerability into a strikingly interesting context, but we noted at the time that it was difficult to anticipate a strong response in many countries until the issues had been debated in other responsible settings as well.
We very much hope that the Commission on Human Rights will be in a position to contribute its expertise to this important discussion in future. To that end, it is our hope that future Sessions will see a document submitted by the Secretariat which will stimulate your consideration of the way specific vulnerability and marginalisation must be addressed if human dignity is to be protected.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the world's largest humanitarian organization, with 189 member National Societies. As part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, our work is guided by seven fundamental principles; humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. About this site & copyright


text:
Sony EV-C200 Hi-8 VCR Never Had A Chance
By bohus
Once the VHS vs. Beta wars of the 80's finally died down, Sony took another crack at a compact video format with Video8. Roughly the size of an audio cassette, Video8 delivered somewhat better visual quality than VHS. More importantly, it meant camcorders could get considerably smaller. Video cameras were where Video8 ruled, but the format never gained much success for TV recording or movie rentals, though Sony tried really hard with VCR's like the EV-C200.
Later Sony found a way to double the video quality of Video8 to just about the same as broadcast television (VHS is less than half of that). The thinking was that they could attract a more demanding videophile crowd with this new "Hi8" format. That never really happened either, but Hi8 found a home in the emerging field of desktop video production. So a new type of customer - the "prosumer" - emerged, using Hi8 as a way to shoot videos that looked as good as broadcast TV.
Hi8 gear could outperform professional equipment at a fraction of the pro price, but it did suffer a few issues. The tape was very susceptible to dropout, so it was a poor choice for editing - though some soldiered on with the kicky EVO9700 dual deck unit from Sony. So the preferred method was to shoot on Hi8, but then transfer to a more stable video format (or perhaps an early editing computer) for the actual editing, sadly losing a little quality when dubbing.
Hi8 decks like the EV-C200 were rare since so many people simply used their camcorders for playback, which has had unfortunate consequences. A lot of Hi8 gear just doesn't work anymore. Perhaps it's the smaller size, the tight tolerances, but when I've run into Hi8 equipment in recent years it has almost always croaked. Decks like my EV-C200 were never very popular to begin with, which may explain why this simple (except for the built in Faroudja time base corrector circuitry) 15 year old VCR still gets a couple hundred bucks on Ebay.
Sony still hasn't quite given up on Video8. In the shadow of the digital video revolution, they introduced "Digital8" in 1999. It uses the same DV codec as miniDV cameras, it's just that the hardware is targeted at budget minded consumers. Digital8 is also disappearing, but the good news is that the equipment is backwards compatible so you can still play back your old Video8 and Hi8 tapes to digitize them to your computer via firewire..
It's all a reminder of just how fragile our video taped memories can be. If you have material you want to save, now is the time to get it cleaned up and digitized onto your computer.


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Our Guides
Our excellent team of guides exemplify the perfect balance between professional qualification and enthusiastic personality.
Our heli-ski guides have achieved their professional status through a variety of routes, including courses with the Canadian Avalanche Association and certification from the Association of Canadian Mountain Guides, the International Federation Of Mountain Guides Association, the Canadian Ski Guide Association, and HeliCat Canada.
We are friendly, multi-lingual and some of us have been here from the very beginning. Most of us have guided here for a very long time. All of us are certified according to the standards set and maintained by HeliCat Canada.
- Mike Sadan – General Manager
- John Furneaux – Operations Manager
- Junichi Matsunaga – Ground Support Manager
- Kerri Gamble – Reservations Manager
- Andrew Wilkins
- Robert Rainer
- Vlad Lamoureux
- Neil Brown
- Rich Prohaska
- Atsu Kimura
- Dale Marcoux
- Kirk Becker
- Paige Bell
- Helene Steiner
- Steve Anderson
The Whistler Heli-Skiing guides will be happy to respond to your questions about the mountain environment.


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Welcome to the Baltimore Amateur Radio Club
The Baltimore Amateur Radio Club is a non-profit public service organization, organized under the laws of the State of Maryland. We are recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) organization, and are registered with the Secretary of State of the State of Maryland as a non-profit organization. For information on donations please contact us.
Public Service latest announcements
Find us on Facebook for the most up-to-date club info! You do not need to have a Facebook account to view our Facebook page.
ARRL Field Day was June 28-29, 2014. This is the largest on-air amateur radio event in North America. This year, we again enjoyed using the clubhouse with all the comforts of air conditioning, electrical power, food, and restroom facilities. Field Day details
13 Colonies Special Event: July 1-6, 24 hrs. a day
BARC participated in the 13 Colonies Special Event as a sister event to the July 4th celebration. We represented the 200th Anniversary of the Star Spangle Banner. This was an important part in history and a huge event for BARC. Congratulations to those hams who made a clean sweep by working all the 1x1 stations plus the bonus stations. We hosted hams from all over the area as operators--a hearty Thank You to those who helped. Operators: Michael KC3BFE, Robert ND3D, Roger W3ROG, Charles W3CQB, Frank W3FGD, Val W3VAL, John KC3AJH, Ted WA3AER, Leo N3AEG, Hale N3NYC, Michael KB3VHH, Michael, N3OKT, Neil W3ZQI, Brian N3VN, Bill N3WD, Sharon K3DUH, Bernie Moll, and Bill N3UKI. QSL activities are underway. We have uploaded to Logbook of the World and hundreds of QSL requests by USmail have been answered so far.
QSL any of our contacts (any on-air activity): US-send SASE; DX-send SAE w/$1USD or use the bureau). Essentially, for any direct mailing, an SASE or postage is required. Our mailing address is "Baltimore Amateur Radio Club-W3FT, 12360 Owings Mills Blvd-Suite D, Reisterstown, MD 21136". Logbook of the World is loaded promptly.
Special Event Station -- Opening of the War of 1812. W3FT was on the air Saturday June 16, 2012 and Sunday June 17, 2012. Wow, over 1,616 contacts! Full event and QSL details We'll be back on the air in mid-2014 for the "closing" celebration of the War of 1812. -- more details to come.
Wow, another cool and successful event has concluded with our 2014 Greater Baltimore Hamboree on Saturday April 5, 2014. (Maryland State Fairgrounds--Timonium, MD). The 2014 event included our first year with the Maryland Emergency Preparedness Expo. To those who came out, we thank you for being with us! The Hamboree included free Amateur Radio License examinations. There were 58 applicants with 65 examinations administered. Our congratulations to the 45 individuals who achieved either their first license or upgraded. This was the biggest exam session for the Hamboree since April, 2000.
A big thank you to BGE of Baltimore, MD for their Emergency Prepardness Grant to our organization. This $8,250 is being used to repair and update damaged infrastructure (antenna, tower, and radios) used for our public service and emergency prepardness activities. For example, Baltimore City and Baltimore County Skywarn are conducted on our VHF repeater system. The equipment upgrade to the radio shack is already underway.
BARC Repeater is available for anyone to use. The repeater has a primary input
frequency of
146.07 Mhz and output is 146.67. The output PL tone is 107.2.
General Information:
Now on Facebook
This page was last updated 08/23/2014 Copyright (c) 2013/2014 Baltimore Amateur Radio Club


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Robyn Schall hosts this showcase of the city's best female comics.
Ladies Night with Robyn SchallCarolines on Broadway (1626 Broadway, New York, NY) Map it $18
Stand Up Comedy Show with New York City's best female comics. Original price tickets are $18, but to get the discount price of $10 tickets when calling the box office for reservations mention the promo code "Girls". The phone number to Carolines box office is 212-757-4100. You can also make reservations online at http://www.carolines.com/comedian/robyn-schall/.
Comics on the Show:
Kate Hendricks
Jena Friedman
Yamaneika Sauders
Missy Baker
Robyn Schall (host)


text:
- Refurb MacBook Air MD231LL/A i5 1.8GHz 13.3" 128GB SSD for $779 (pictured, low by $189)
- refurb MacBook Air MD761LL/A i5 1.3GHz 13.3" 256GB SSD for $979 (low by $20)
- browse for more refurbished MacBook Air laptops at the Apple Store
Refurb Apple MacBook Air Laptops: Core i5 13" + free shipping
from $779 + free shippingSHOP NOW
Posted 5 days 18 hr ago
The Apple Store continues to discount a selection of factory-refurbished MacBook Air laptops, with prices starting at $779. Plus, all orders qualify for free shipping. Each system carries a 1-year Apple warranty (the same as new units). Notables: